Bonds Without Barrier
by Melissa2
Summary: Changes show that sometimes bonds endure through impossible circumstances. Mostly a Harper fic (after the first couple of chapters). Please read and review :)
1. Dylan

Disclaimer: I in no way own Andromeda or its characters, and I do not intend (or think I could in any way) acquire profit from this piece of fan fiction.  
Title: Bonds Without Barrier  
Rating: PG-13  
Spoilers: No major spoilers, maybe a few little episodic references here and there  
Author's Note: This is my very first Andromeda fan fic, and I hope to improve on them from here on out. Reviews are very much appreciated.  
Thank You's: Thank you to everyone who's reviewed this story and my others. And a big thank you to Wulfric for his critiques.  
  
  
--------------------------------------------------  
"In my business you prepare for the unexpected."  
James Bond  
--------------------------------------------------  
  
  
The Andromeda's Command Deck was relatively quiet. I sighed as Beka Valentine, my first officer, finished informing me about another planet that profit could be derived from. She was an excellent first officer, but like everyone else on board, the restoration of the Commonwealth wasn't her only reason for being here. If I gave in to one of her schemes just once, would she forget about it for awhile? I decided I didn't want to know the answer to that question.  
  
"I have detected an intruder near the senior officers' quarters." Rommie approached me from the other side of the Command Deck. "Do you want me to release IC nanobots?  
  
"Is the intruder armed?" I asked, wondering how an intruder enters a moving vessel.   
  
"I detect no immediate recognizable weapons on her person or in the sack approximately four feet from her. However, there is a possibility she is carrying an item that I cannot detect. Her readings are fluctuating."  
  
"Fluctuating?" I asked.  
  
"She is phasing in and out of forms of energy."  
  
I debated the issue for a moment, and responded, "No, don't release the IC nanobots. Tyr and Rommie, you're with me. Beka, stay here and keep an eye on things."  
  
Tyr and Rommie followed me as we ran to the area housing the senior officers' quarters. We were ready to face almost any threat thrown our way, but none of us expected what we did encounter. We rounded a corner and saw a young woman sprawled across the floor. She shivered for a moment before she went into sporadic convulsions.   
  
"Trance, to the Officer's Mess Deck, NOW!" I looked over to Tyr who seemed apathetic towards the situation. This young woman was probably merely an intruder and nothing else to him, just another threat to the Andromeda's security.  
  
I noticed a large blue knapsack near the young woman and opened it. Rommie stated she was uncertain of whether this young woman was carrying a weapon or not, and I didn't want to find out the hard way she was. The contents all appeared innocent enough. Most of the items were antiques in mint conditions: a disc player, a folder filled with discs, a small rectangular device with a display screen and cross on the right hand side, several video tapes, a hairdryer, some clothing and an array of smaller items, some that I couldn't identify. 'She might be an interstellar merchant. Or she's an Earth history buff and collector like Harper,' I thought.  
  
The young woman had stopped convulsing temporarily, and I thought the worst was over. It began as a twitch, but developed into what would have to be the most violent spasms I had ever seen. It hurt me just seeing her. I had to turn my head. I put a hand on the wall behind me. It caused strange tingling sensations to move up my arm, and I jerked my hand away.  
  
"Rommie, is there anything abnormal in that wall behind me?" I glanced back at the young woman, and the convulsions were subsiding.   
  
"It's emitting energy and particles I can't identify. The intruder is also emitting energy. The energy is similar to radiation with a low dispersion factor."  
  
"Could it have something to do with how she came on board?"  
  
"It's very possible this wall was her point of entry, but I'm not sure whether we're capable of analyzing this data or not. I'm scanning surrounding space for a possible source."  
  
"What's keeping Trance? Rommie, send your hologram to find Trance and get her down here immediately." The young woman was still again. I leaned over her and checked for a pulse. Her skin was ice cold. It took me a few seconds to find it. It was very weak. She was also barely breathing. I took of my jacket and wrapped it around her. I hoped Trance would hurry. There wasn't much more I could do for the young woman, and her chances for survival were looking grim.  
  



	2. Trance

------------------------------------------------------  
"The difficulty in life is the choice."  
George Moore, The Bending of the Bough, [1900], act IV  
------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
My day had been nothing short of terrible. It seemed that all I could encounter was one disaster after another. The Mess Deck's autochefs were malfunctioning this morning, and instead of pancakes and orange juice, I received the Magog's equivilent of cake, or so Rev told me. It was a putrid square of sanguine and olive. After discussing Magog cuisine with Rev, I realized I had no time to eat breakfast and ran down to the Medical Deck. I was fifteen minutes late, and someone had already sustained an injury. Tyr had a broken shoulder from landing on it while exercising. I treated him with a skeletal regenerator and told him to come back if the pain persisted. I took two minutes to go to and return from the Mess Deck to retrieve a cup of coffee. I was never fond of coffee, but it seemed to make Harper's days more bearable, and I figured it was worth trying.   
  
When I returned to the Medical Deck, I found a message that Harper had gone off duty early due to sickness. He was supposed to have come to me for an examination, but, of course, he didn't. I went to his quarters, which were locked, and begged him to open the door for fifteen minutes. Eventually, after I returned to the Mess Deck and got Rev to help me, his door was opened. I understood his reason for locking me out, though, when I saw him. His face and the exposed parts of his arms were covered in splotches of lime green. He had been infected with Perseid Fever last week when we encountered them. I had to practically carry Harper down to the Medical Deck myself. He spent an hour and a half whining and sarcastically complaining while I vainly tried to organize the new shipment of treatments I received. I often wondered how he and I became friends in the first place.   
  
Lunch time rolled around, and I brought a turkey sandwich and some of my favorite juice from the Mess Deck to the Medical Deck. I had a nice conversation with Harper until I spilled the juice all over myself. I had to change, and I told Harper to stay right where he was. My tail was nearly shut in the door to my quarters. And I knew things were going downhill. I felt thankful that there was a crew shower nearby. I grabbed another one of my work outfits and hurried to the shower. I rinsed the sticky substances off of my skin as quickly as I could. I pulled on the outfit and returned to the Medical Deck.   
  
At that point, Dylan said over the com link, "Trance, to the Officer's Mess Deck, NOW!"   
  
"I'll be right there, Dylan."  
  
I gazed over at the bed Harper had been occupying before I left. It was empty. I had two medical emergencies at once. Harper could potentially infect the whole crew, if their immune systems were weakened over the next couple of days, and I had no clue what this other medical emergency was. I hated making the choice, but I chose searching for Harper. It wasn't a long search, fortunately. It's probably the only thing that went right up to that point. I gave him a strong sedative and restrained him, just to be on the safe side.   
  
Rommie's hologram appeared as I was finishing tightening the restraints. "We need you now, Trance."  
  
"I'm sorry. Harper has Perseid Fever, and he was roaming the ship. He could potentially infect most of the crew."   
  
When I ran to the Officer's Mess Deck, I realized I had made the wrong choice. Perseid Fever wasn't very severe in most cases. I could have treated it fairly easily. A young woman was in what seemed to be a severe epileptic fit. I didn't know if I would be able to save her. Time was always against me in cases like this. The extra minute I had taken could cost this young woman her life.   
  
"Trance, she's been having convulsions for about five minutes now." Dylan looked to me for an answer that I didn't have.  
  
"We need to get her to the Med Deck. We can't stabilize her here," I said, stating the obvious.   
  
She arrived at the Medical Deck, still alive. I knew it had been luck and nothing more that had kept her that way. I began scanning her for whatever had caused her seizures. She was fighting cellular mutation and decay. I gave her the proper treatment to prevent the convulsions, but there was no treatment I could administer to help her cells stabilize. It was beyond the limitations of safe medicine.  
  
"What's happening to her?" Dylan seemed to already know the news wasn't going to be good.  
  
"Her cells are mutating, phasing in and out of their normal state, and some of them are decaying. It's a lot like cancer sped up ten fold. There's nothing I can do for her but prevent the convulsions and physical symptoms." I frowned and wished there was more I could do.  
  
"I'm sure she'll pull through, Trance. Rommie and I have begun working on analyzing some of the data from her presumable location of entry. I'm going to send you the data as well, and I'd like to hear what you make of it. I will be on the Command Deck. Keep me posted on her condition." Dylan laid a hand on my shoulder. Even with the day I had and what had happened, I felt the sun creep out from behind stormy clouds. "By the way, she was carrying this knapsack. If the contents can help you treat her, you're free to go through it."  
  
"I know you can't hear me, but everything's going to be okay. I won't let anything happen to you." I squeezed the girl's cool hand. She flinched, and it seemed like she understood for a split second. I shook off the feeling and returned to my work. 


	3. Harper

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
It's odd that you can get so anesthetized by your own pain or your own problem that you don't quite fully share the hell of someone close to you.  
Lady Bird Johnson  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
was crawling on my hands and knees in the scorching sand. The sun was merciless, its rays penetrating through my clothes and burning my skin. "Water," I whispered. My mouth had turned into parchment. The saline beads of sweat found their way into the corner of my mouth. I ran my tongue across my lips and discovered the droplets only increased my thirst. My mind started a downward spiral, and it wasn't long before hallucination and reality swirled together. 'God I'm tired. And it would be so easy to just fall asleep.' I lost control and felt myself falling. I screamed and tried to grasp onto something. Anything...  
  
My eyes opened, and I instinctively attempted to jerk into a sitting position, screaming bloody murder. I was met by the forceful resistance of the medical restraints. "I'm gonna be feeling that tomorrow," I groaned. My throat was sore, and my mouth was dry, not to mention the fact that my skin felt like it had become living fire. I glanced at my arms and remembered the Perseid Fever. How long did Trance say this was going to last again?   
  
"Harper, what's wrong?" Trance ran in from an adjoining room.  
  
"I need water. And untie me for heaven's sake! I don't think I'm even able to stand up now."  
  
"Promise me you won't even try to leave first."   
  
"Whatever you say."  
  
She sighed and released the restraints. I threw the sweat soaked blue medical blanket onto the floor. The cool air was refreshing. I glanced across the room. Someone was in critical condition. Trance only uses that much equipment when there's a low chance of survival. I couldn't see the bed's occupant, though.   
  
Trance returned with a large glass of water. I grabbed it from her like it was the last glass of water in the galaxy and finished it in two gulps. It burned when I swallowed, but was well worth the pain. It wasn't worth the nausea, though, but that would go away. Eventually.  
  
"Thanks. When do I get out of here?" I pushed myself up to sit up against the wall behind me.  
  
"It depends on how quickly you heal. If all goes well, maybe two or three days."   
  
"That's too long." I decided to stop complaining and change the subject. "What happened?" I gestured at the bed across the room I had been watching earlier.  
  
"An intruder...appeared...a few hours ago. She's degrading and mutating on the cellular level. Things aren't looking good for her right now." Trance seemed extremely upset over this.  
  
"Well, I'm sure she'll be all right. She's got the best doctor in the galaxy." I smiled at Trance. She was my best friend, probably the best friend I've ever had. I owed her at least a smile or two for all the times she'd been there for me in the short time we'd known each other.  
  
A weak smile appeared on her face for a moment before she became somber again. "Harper..."  
  
"The one and only." I smiled again. Smiling required a lot more energy than I realized, and I had to slide back down to a laying position.   
  
"Never mind. Are you hungry?" Her eyes were trained on the floor.  
  
"What's wrong, Trance?" She was hiding something. Actually, she was hiding a lot of things, but her mystery is part of her charm. This was different, though. I could feel it. Intuition, I guess.  
  
"Nothing. I'm going down to the Mess Deck, and I want to know if you would like anything while I'm down there." She was obviously feigning a smile. I wouldn't push her anymore now. If it was really important, she would tell me when she was ready.  
  
"Coffee. And something I'll be able to swallow without it setting my throat on fire."   
  
"No coffee, but I'll get you something. I'll be back in a couple of minutes." She walked out of the room. Her tail was still and pointed forward. From what I'd seen, that was her body language for on the verge of a nervous breakdown.  
  
'It must be her new patient,' I thought, sighing and forcing myself onto my feet. Slowly, I managed to walk over to the bed of the very ill intruder. Her face was partially covered. When I turned her head to face me, I nearly lost my balance and fell. Before I knew what was happening, the tears welled up in my eyes. 'It has to be a fever induced delusion. There's no possible way.' 


	4. The Intruder

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.  
Paul Fix  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
Black timelessness. It surrounded me. Engulfed me. Became a part of me. I was floating in an orb remaining in slow motion. Cold and painfully desolate. Filled with the sort of silence that pushed even the strongest of wills into that point of no return. I reached out in final desperation, but nothing lay before me. It hit me all at once like a nuclear explosion. There was no escape.   
  
What crime had I committed to desreve this abhorrent fate? My memories were even more mysterious than the realm I was trapped within. The most recent memory that preceded my arrival was walking home. It seemed like an eternity had passed since then, but, for all I knew, it could have been an hour ago.  
  
The lack of human contact and quiet had an almost pleasant beginning. It allowed me to collect my thoughts and relax without the usual interruptions. But the unavoidable basic instinct of paranoia permeated me eventually. Outlandish thoughts of apparitions and demons clandestinely stalking me, the ax murderer sitting behind me waiting for an opportune moment to turn me into an amputee and other even more gruesome images floated through my mind. I was no longer mildly afraid. I was terrified.  
  
Then, the voice entered the orb that was my prison. It flowed like warm molasses around me. I did not cower or attempt to escape it, though. I couldn't hear the words, but the intent and tone were obvious. Someone somewhere was on my side. My hand began glowing. I could feel the gentle touch of the voice's owner. It brought the realm of black death into a temporary flash of light. It rekindled that assurance I would find my way out of this dungeon of impending doom.   
  
The warmth and glow mitigated, draining from me in small amounts. I felt like a leaky faucet of sorts. I missed the sweet murmur and warmth. The darkness crept out of its hiding place slowly, allowing me to relish those few moments, as if to say it was an accident never to occur again. I fought with rejunvenated strength and confidence. Time crept by, each second lingering on for an eternity. I finally lost count and had to be content with the company of my own thoughts. Maybe that voice, the ray of light into this forsaken realm, was a freak accident.  
  
When I had again nearly lost hope, another voice entered my orb. This one expressed sorrow and disbelief. I was drowned in a deluge of its tears and bittersweet song of mourning. This voice was very different from the first.   
  
It touched me. Liquid flames flowed freely through and around me. I was a human torch, chasing all of the darkness into oblivion. The voice's words became audible, then crystal clear.  
  
"How can you be here? I watched them...no, I let them...end it all. I'm sorry..." The empathy I had acquired was dull and vague, but the guilt he felt came through strong and harsh.   
  
"Don't blame yourself." I reached out almost hesistantly in the direction of the voice. This was all so new, and I was unaware of what consequences the actions taken would have.  
  
"You can hear me?" His confusion swirled around within me in a pool of dull gray.   
  
"Let me bring you to me." My arms spread and beckoned my herald of hope to join me. 'What are you doing? It's not your place to trap others here...but it feels so natural. So right,' I argued within my mind.  
  
His willingness wavered for a moment before he leapt into my arms, succumbing completely to the forces surrounding us. Human torches collided, causing a breathtaking display of rainbow sparks of light, flashes and whirls. Our thoughts and emotions mingled, then merged into a cocktail of ambivalence.   
  
I saw life through the eyes of a hurt and lonely young man hiding behind a mask of sarcasm and self-confidence. His memories were painful and few brought him happiness. Blood and horrid creatures ruined his childhood and stole those years of sweet ignorance most of us experience. Even his joyful memories brought pain. They were all a blur, like a movie in fast forward mode. The thought of him actually going through years of torment and suffering brought tears to my eyes.  
  
It ended as suddenly as it had began. The chaos cleared and darkness faded. I stood facing him, our fingers intertwined. I no longer heard his thoughts or felt his emotions, but we still shared an intimacy unprecedented in my life. We stared into each others eyes, and I couldn't bring myself to look away. His eyes were blue, warm but hardened by all that he had been through.  
  
"Are you all right?" He was the first to speak. He seemed to recognize me, but I hadn't ever seen him before in my recollection.   
  
I glanced around us. We seemed to be suspended in the sky. There was no ground below me, yet it felt solid. This was a very strange place. I looked down at my body. I felt no pain and appeared to have come out of this unscathed. I still didn't feel great, though. "I've been better. How are you?"  
  
"I'm okay. What is this place?" He took a step away from me and turned in a complete circle.  
  
"I don't know. I was just floating in...a void a few seconds ago and then, the next thing I know, I'm here with you."  
  
"You were sick. You came aboard our ship, and we rescued you."  
  
"Your ship? What do you mean?"  
  
"You're aboard the Andromeda Ascendant, the last of the Commonwealth Starships. My name is Harper."  
  
"I'm...Lise. Yeah, that's my name." I was feeling a little groggy, like I'd just come out of anesthesia.  
  
"We've got to hurry so we can get back before Trance does."  
  
"Who's Trance? And you know where we're supposed to be going?"  
  
"I'll tell you about all that when we get there. Did you see any doors or anything when you were in that place where I found you?" He crossed his arms across his chest pensively.  
  
"It was really dark and creepy. I don't think there were any doors." I started moving my foot along the solid sky-ground. There was a gap in it. "There's a hole in the sky."  
  
"We've got to jump through it." He was already crouched down, finding the hole's edges.  
  
"What?" I wondered if he had gone out of his mind.  
  
"Trust me. Jump."  
  
"You want me to trust you when I barely know your name?"   
  
He grinned and grabbed me around my waist. He sent us both plummeting through the sky. This was one of my least favorite sensations, and having to experience for more than a couple of seconds wasn't very pleasant. There was a rocky ground far below us, but growing closer rapidly. 'We're going to die!' I thought as we were seconds from impact. 


	5. Trance

------------------------------------------------------------------------  
It's choice - not chance - that determines your destiny.  
Jean Nidetch  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
The Medical Bay door swooshed shut behind me, and I just stood there. I had been making every wrong decision I possibly could. "To trust Harper or to not trust Harper? That is the question." I smiled as I remembered when Harper told me about Shakespeare and his literature. The smile quickly faded as I made my decision. If he behaved himself for five minutes, I would go down to the Mess Deck. If I caught him trying to escape again, I would put him in restraints regardless of what he said or did. I had warned him before, and he had made a promise to me that he wouldn't try to leave the Medical Bay.   
  
Four minutes passed without incident. I was beginning to think that Harper had kept his word after all. Then, I felt someone tap my shoulder and jumped. I half-expected to see Harper standing there, a grin on his face, telling me that I should watch the door more carefully. I turned around to see Dylan standing behind me.  
  
"Trance, have you seen the data I sent you?"   
  
"Not yet. I had to spend a lot of time stabilizing the girl and then Harper's sedative wore off."  
  
"Do you have a minute to come and look at it? Rommie and I have made some progress in analyzing it."  
  
"Of course." Dylan and I began walking towards the main laboratory of the Andromeda. I wondered what they had discovered in the data. Hopefully something that will help me reverse the girl's condition.   
  
Rommie was in the lab, leaning over one of the consoles. I approached her from behind and started reading the data. It was, like the girl's condition, different from anything I'd ever seen before. I couldn't even determine whether it was living or not. It had some similar compounds to living organisms, but there were also traits associated with unliving things.   
  
"What progress have you made?" I continued reading through the data.  
  
"We have determined that it isn't living organisms causing this. The affected wall has been attracting many nanobots, but none of them have been able to completely destroy it. There have been no effects on the function of the systems, and as far as we can tell, it's become harmless. As for its entry, we still have no clue how it came on board." Rommie pressed a button on the console and an image appeared on the screen. It reminded me of a virus I had seen several months ago, but there were distinct differences, too. And it wasn't the virus I felt I should be reminded of. There was a nagging in the back of my mind about all of this, but I couldn't pin point what it was.   
  
"This is one of the organisms from the wall magnified a thousand times," Dylan said. He moved to the other side of Rommie and pointed out several key characteristics they had found that might aid in its identification.  
  
"It's so familiar...I feel like I should know what this is." I tapped my fingers lightly on the edge of the console and read through the data again. The results of the reading were the same. I still had that feeling I was forgetting something very obvious that I should have noticed immediately.  
  
"You can get back to your patients, but if you think of anything, I want you to contact me immediately. We still aren't sure of what this is capable of."   
  
I nodded and left the lab. The image of the substance was burned into my mind. I knew if I hadn't had such an off day I would know what it was eating at my mind. I trudged down to the Mess Deck. I ordered some hot herbal tea for myself, which had helped me clear my mind in the past. I wasn't very hungry so I just ordered strawberry ice cream for Harper. The ice cream would be easy to swallow and shouldn't upset his stomach too much. Strawberry was his favorite, and I wanted to make Perseid Fever as easy to bear for him as possible. I knew the Medical Deck wasn't his idea of paradise, and he would be absolutely swamped with work when he returned to duty.   
  
I returned to the Medical Deck. I first turned towards Harper's bed to find he wasn't there. I sighed and wondered where he had gone. Then, I turned to the girl's bed. Harper was leaning on it, his hand tightly clenching hers. Both of them were moving their lips as if they were speaking to each other. As I moved closer to the bed, I felt the psychic energy I had always been sensitive to. They were undoubtedly communicating on some level.   
  
I set the Mess Deck tray down on an unoccupied bed and silently advanced towards them. I wondered if he could help her where medical technology failed. Spending as much time with Harper as I did, I knew he would do everything in his power to help her. But I didn't know if that would be enough in this situation. Her readings weren't as serious as they had been, but they were still abnormal. They seemed to be suspended at an elevated level. Nothing fluctuated even a minute amount. Even comatose patients' readings fluctuated naturally.   
  
The readings jumped off of the sensors into extremely dangerous levels without warning. Both Harper and the girl were physically suffering the effects of this, but he didn't let go of her hand. 'She must mean a lot to him, or he wouldn't go to all this trouble,' I thought. I knew if I intervened, both of them could be lost. Any of my superior officers would insist I do something instead of leave them to save themselves. I decided against telling anyone else about this. "Be careful, Harper. Please be careful." 


	6. Harper

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
In real life, unlike in Shakespeare, the sweetness of the rose depends upon the name it bears. Things are not only what they are. They are, in very important respects, what they seem to be.  
Hubert H. Humphrey (1911 - 1978)  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
  
Utter terror caused every muscle and bone in my body to stiffen as I first saw what lay below the sky. We were plummeting towards countless pinnacles of gray rock formations below us. Maybe even I, for once, had made an error in judgment. A gigantic error. I had always thought I wouldn't die a conventional death, but this was beyond any thoughts I'd had concerning my own death. 'I don't wanna be a human shishkabob!' I thought as I closed my eyes and waited to be impaled.   
  
Silence ensued. Painless silence. I dared to open my eyes, but was met by total darkness. 'Is this what death is like? Just total darkness? Maybe this is a purgatory. I guess I really shouldn't have partied all night with that hot alien babe at the last planet. Man, she was flexible. I'm not gonna forget that night anytime soon,' I thought, futilely trying not to grin.  
  
"This is where I was before." I heard the girl's quivering voice. "Am I alone?"  
  
I took a few steps forward, using my arms to plot approximately how large this area was. I bumped into something, and I heard a yelp.  
  
"Did I hurt you?" I found her arm and grasped it to keep her from running off somewhere.  
  
"No, you just scared me. This whole place scares me. I don't like it here." She pulled her arm from my grasp. She found my body and clung to me for dear life.   
  
I was grateful for the darkness. It masked my falling tears. The familiarity and memories were too much for me to endure. I fought the impulse to play the memories in my mind again. I had to stay strong. If not for myself, for her. She needed someone to help her pull through this, and that was my job.  
  
"You're the only one who can get us out of here. You have to break this bubble." I knew it was one of those corny phrases of encouragement that I promised myself I'd never use. But no one else was here, and women had always seemed to take them to heart in my experience. And we both needed to get out of here now. "I believe in you, but you have to believe in yourself. I know you can do this."  
  
She unwillingly released herself from the safe haven within my arms. I heard her take a few steps away from me. "I...I don't know who or what you are...but I do know that I don't appreciate this. I want to leave this place. You can't hold me against my will any longer. I won't stand for it. Throw your worst at me! I'm not a coward!" Each word grew in confidence and boldness.   
  
We were both silent for several seconds before I decided to point something out to her. "This is your mind. You should have at least some control."  
  
"My mind? Then how did you get in here?"   
  
"Long story. But my physical body is with yours outside of your mind."  
  
"This is my mind. I'm not going to let it win this battle." She spoke with even more confidence than before. "I don't like the dark so it's disappearing now! I like the beach!"   
  
The distant call of sea gulls and the gentle crashing of the tides upon the rocks were music to my ears. The scent of salt water and fresh air were invigorating. The pleasant warmth of the sun surrounded me. I was wearing a pair of blue trunks. And my Perseid Fever was gone. That made this all even better. The wet sand squished between my bare toes. It made me feel so alive and lighthearted. The sand was perfect white, and there wasn't a cloud in the clear blue sky. Palm trees swayed in the breeze, and underneath one was the best part of the beach. A surf board.   
  
This was paradise to me already. I could have spent days on end here enjoying myself. But it got even better. I turned around and saw her. I hadn't had the opportunity to really give her a once over before, but now here she was in a emerald one piece swim suit. It brought out her green eyes and long curly red hair that cascaded down her shoulders. She was slightly curvy in just the right places and had what I would call a nearly perfect body. I would guess she was nineteen, maybe twenty. I didn't want to leave, but I felt like I was supposed to be the responsible one in this situation.  
  
"So, what do you want to do?" She ran over to me, looking as delighted as I felt.   
  
"We should be trying to get out of here." Those words were almost impossible to say. 'Harper, you really are a dedicated guy to be able to give all this up,' I thought.  
  
"Five minutes won't hurt, will it?" She smiled and her eyes were begging me to say that I wanted to have fun as much as she did.  
  
Insouciance inevitably won over responsibility. I grinned. "I guess not."  
  
"We should go swimming or something!" Excited was an understatement for her. She was practically jumping up and down. This girl obviously didn't get out much or do anything for enjoyment.  
  
"I know how to surf." I glanced back over at the surf board that was calling me to ride it.   
  
"I've always wanted to try that. I'll go get the board!" She was running towards the surf board before I could say a word. I chuckled and went to the water's edge. The cool waves washed over my feet and little sea creatures crawled across the beach. The accuracy of the beach surprised me.  
  
"I've got the board. Now what do we do?" She wasn't even slightly out of breath.   
  
"I'll show you." I began giving her step by step instructions on how to surf. She was very attentive and constantly asking questions. People like her made perfect students.  
  
"Can we try it now?" Her eyes glittered in eagerness.  
  
"Yeah. We can ride together, and I'll show you how to really do some of what I've said." We stood on the board together, and I wrapped an arm around her waist. I felt the tingling of touching her as we caught the first wave.  
  
"How am I doing?" She was following what I said to the letter.  
  
"Great! Just lean a little this way." I pulled her back with my arm around her. Then, my desire got the best of me, and I became the cause of a major wipe out.   
  
Instead of falling into the water, I felt myself laying in something much drier and softer. It was fragrant red rose petals. I was no longer donning trunks. I wore khaki pants and a cream-colored long sleeved shirt with ruffles that reminded me of Shakespeare. She was by my side, also no longer in beach apparel. She wore a long classic style dress that was a similar color to my shirt. It clung to her figure in just the right places and made her look like a medieval princess of sorts or Juliet Capulet. I downloaded some Shakespeare through my cerebral port a few months ago accidentally. This was the first time I could actually put it to use. Shakespeare wasn't really my thing, but most women seemed to just eat it up like candy.  
  
"Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear, that tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops--" I began, wondering if she knew this text as well as I did.  
  
"O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon, that monthly changes in her circled orb, lest that thy love prove likewise variable." She recited it perfectly and smiled.  
  
"What shall I swear by?"  
  
"Do not swear at all. Or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self, which is the god of my idolatry, and I'll believe thee." She was so sincere. I found myself almost believing her words.  
  
"If my heart's dear love--"  
  
"Well, do not swear: although I joy in thee, I have no joy of this contract to-night. It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden; too like the lightning, which doth cease to be ere one can say 'It lightens.' Sweet, good night! This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath, may prove a beauteous flower when next we meet. Good night, good night! as sweet repose and rest come to thy heart as that within my breast!"   
  
"O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?" I was no longer an actor playing a role. I felt the words coming from my heart. I wanted her as much as Romeo wanted Juliet, if not even more.   
  
"What satisfaction canst thou have to-night?" This was not a role any long for her, either. Her tone was too enticing, too sensual to be Juliet.  
  
"The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine." I moved closer to her, tempting her by almost kissing her but pulling back at the last second.   
  
"I gave thee mine before thou didst request it and yet I would it were to give again."   
  
"Wouldst thou withdraw it? For what purpose, love?" I spoke the words into her ear, my voice barely above a whisper. I had lost all self-control and was fueled purely by my emotions.  
  
"But to be frank, and give it thee again. And yet I wish but for the thing I have: my bounty is as boundless as the sea,  
my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite." She hardly said the last word before I leaned in to kiss her. A flash of light blinded me, and everything went blank. 


	7. Dylan

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise.  
Robert Fritz  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
  
The twisted paths of the slipstream covered the main view screen. Beka navigated Andromeda through the stream with natural skill and expertise. Tyr was on the other side of the Command Deck, examining readings from the sensors. The minutes passed slowly, and my mind wandered to the newest mystery we faced: the intruder and the organisms that accompanied her into Andromeda. Trance seemed very close to an answer. I had confidence in her abilities and dedication. I was almost certain she would run onto the Command Deck with the solution by the day's end.  
  
"Dylan!" Trance ran onto the Command Deck as if she had read my mind. "The intruder is conscious."  
  
"Is she capable of speaking to us?" This was just as good as the answer about the organisms I had hoped for. It might provide us with more information than any sensors readings ever could.  
  
"She was talking with Harper when I left." Trance was smiling. I was glad the girl had survived for Trance's sake. In my time with her, she had only lost two patients while we were off ship. Both times, she took it very hard and personally.  
  
"Tyr, take over navigations. Beka, you're with me." I followed Trance down to the Medical Bay.   
  
Harper was holding the intruder, who was audibly sobbing, rocking her back and forth. The green rash from the Perseid Fever was obvious, even though his back was to us. "It's going to be all right. You don't have to cry," he said to her.  
  
"The frog prince, more frog than prince, with his princess. How sweet." Beka was the first to speak.  
  
"Too bad the wicked witch had to ruin the moment." He was quick to respond, with a grin. His embarrassment was visible underneath the sarcasm, though.  
  
"I'm Captain Dylan Hunt. This is my first officer, Beka Valentine. We've come to talk to you." I was gentle with my tone. The girl looked rather young to me, probably not over seventeen or eighteen.  
  
Harper began walking back towards another bed. "Can Harper please stay with me while we talk?" the girl asked.  
  
"I don't see any harm in it if he doesn't mind staying," I replied.  
  
Harper turned around and sat down on the bed beside her. She immediately looked more comfortable.  
  
"I'm sorry if I've caused you any trouble. From what Harper's said, I've stirred up quite a commotion. That was not my intention. I didn't mean to interfere with your lives...oh, and I'm Lise Bennett."  
  
"Do you know how you came aboard?" Beka asked.  
  
"I'm really not sure. The last thing I can remember is walking home. I'm not sure what happened between there and here. And there's another thing. Harper said it's 10087. That memory is from 2001. It's been a very long time..." She was on the verge of tears, and I felt her pain. I knew what it was to have lost everything.   
  
"An advanced biostasis unit!" Trance exclaimed. "That's why the readings looked so familiar. I've seen one like it before a few years ago, but they're really rare. That's how she lived this long. And contact with Andromeda caused the stasis unit to deactivate and drop her inside."  
  
"That explains a lot. We'll let you rest now." I left the Medical Bay with Beka behind me.  
  
"Why didn't you ask her what she plans to do now?" Beka asked.  
  
"I don't want to push her. Let this sink in before we give her even more to worry about."  
  
"We're going to be at Messina in less than an hour. We've got those ambassadors to take to Utrecht for the conference. Utrecht is a nice planet on the second continent."  
  
"She knows nothing about what's happened over the past years. We should let her learn what there is to learn before just stranding her on a planet."  
  
"Dylan, I know you feel a connection with her because of what you've been through, but we know hardly anything about her. She could be lying."  
  
"We have no evidence that she's lied to us. And what's one more person aboard Andromeda going to do if we keep an eye on her?" I knew Beka was making a valid point, but my conscience wouldn't let me just leave Lise somewhere as ignorant as she was. I would have Harper create and install a secret surveillance system if anything suspicious turned up.  
  
"Approximately thirty minutes until we arrive at Messina." Tyr left the navigations seat and returned to the other side of the Command Deck.  
  
"Messina's also a good planet," Beka said.  
  
"The inhabitants of the homeworld are xenophobic. They have to be trained in a special academy to be diplomats or ambassadors off planet." I knew what she was doing and didn't appreciate her going against my judgment.  
  
"What did you find out about the intruder?" Tyr asked.  
  
"Her name is Lise Bennett. She said she's been in a biostasis unit since approximately 2001," I replied.  
  
"Just because she is young doesn't mean she is innocent. She hasn't done anything to show she is trustworthy," Tyr said.  
  
"I didn't say I trusted her. I'm just giving her the benefit of the doubt. She can't cause much damage in the Medical Bay, if she wanted to."  
  
The rest of the voyage to Messina was silent. My crew was evidently against my decision, but they were good people and would follow my orders. The ambassadors were taken aboard without incident. We began the journey to Utrecht, the major business center of all of the planets from here to Earth and countryside area that was a retirement paradise for business tycoons and those who enjoyed the simple things.   
  
  
  
  



	8. Lise

-------------------------------------------------------------------  
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.   
Semisonic  
-------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
It had grown quiet, no silent, in the Medical Bay. Completely unbearable. I had been content to watch Harper sleeping in his bed on the other side of the room for half an hour. He reminded me of an angel, with his white shirt, blond hair and the peaceful expression on his face. He was my angel for saving me from the depths of my own mind when I lost all hope of ever escaping. I felt I owed him my life for risking his for me.  
  
Trance had instructed me to sleep. I did give sleep an honest attempt, but how could I expect to sleep after my world was turned upside down. I was over eight thousand years old, and that was just beginning to sink in on a lot of levels. Everything that I had known was gone. My relatives had been dead for thousands of years. There probably wasn't anyone even remotely related to me remaining, considering my geneology. Earth would be a totally new planet, if it still existed. The thought that the only planet I ever knew was gone was more than slightly unsettling. I had become just another lost soul in the universe with no where to go.   
  
I knew the crew would ask me soon where I wanted to be taken. In fact, they had probably intended to ask me just that before I had that embarrassing emotional outburst. They probably actually cared about my well-being. The well-being of someone who should have died hundreds of generations ago. I hadn't a clue about technology, other planets, eight thousand years of history or all of these alien species. Like Trance. She was sparkly and lavendar, with colorful accents in her medium blond hair. She was so mysterious.   
  
I made a decision at that moment. My quest here would be for knowledge. I would learn as much as the average person knew about the time period as quickly as possible. Then, I would find somewhere to go and something to do with my life. Losing all hope of sleep and hoping Trance was up for a conversation, I tip toed across the room in the direction she had left in. I found her asleep against a wall, next to an opened cabinet. After examining the cabinet and what lie near it, I came to the conclusion she was alphabetizing the contents. Everything was labelled, which made it much easier. Within the hour, I had organized the cabinet. I smiled with pride when I inspected my work.   
  
I allowed Trance to sleep and returned to my bed. Harper was still sleeping, and I had nothing to do. The more I thought about it, the more I needed to speak with Captain Hunt. He would be able to answer a lot of my questions, and I hadn't had the chance to thank him for letting me live. I was an intruder that could have posed a threat to the welfare of his ship. I don't think I would have made the same decision if I had been in his position.  
  
Feeling slightly guilty about leaving without permission, I crept out of the Medical Bay into the corridor. It was fortunately empty. I didn't know which way to go to find the Captain. I chose to proceed right. I turned a corner and bumped into someone. As I looked up to see who it had been, I was sent into a state of complete terror. An alien with dark fur, claws and a horrifying face wearing a robe was staring at me. I felt like I had been sucked into a bad horror movie.   
  
"I'm so sorry. I didn't see you. Please forgive me." I know my fear was apparent in my voice and the fact that my hands were trembling.  
  
"No, it was my fault. You must be Lise." He knew my name. I wasn't sure of whether to feel more or less terrified.  
  
"Yes, I'm Lise." I had almost lost my ability of thought and speech.  
  
"I'm Rev Bem, another member of the crew."  
  
"It's...nice to meet you."  
  
"Weren't you supposed to be confined to Medical Bay?"   
  
"I was just looking for Captain Hunt. I need to talk to him." The urge to sprint back to Medical Bay as quickly as my feet would go was almost overwhelming.  
  
"He's at the end of the corridor in the first room on the left." He walked away, and I released a huge sigh of relief. Even though he hadn't done anything to provoke it, he beyond scared me.  
  
I found the room Rev had spoken of and entered it. Captain Hunt was throwing a basketball against a wall. I stood at the entrance of the room and watched until he noticed me.  
  
"Lise," he said, walking over to me.  
  
"I know I didn't have permission to leave Medical Bay, but I really wanted to talk to you."  
  
"What's on your mind?"  
  
"I don't know much about anything now, but I have to find a place to live and something to do with my life."  
  
"Why do you want to rush through this? Eight thousand years is a long time and a lot has happened."  
  
"I...I'm only a burden to your crew and you. I've disrupted everything, probably ruined your mission, and I want you to be able to go on with your lives."  
  
He was silent for a moment before speaking. "You haven't caused that much trouble, and you should think through this before you decide what to do. It's up to you, but I think you should catch up on what's happened."  
  
"Does Earth still exist?"  
  
"It does, but it's not a very hospitable place anymore. If you want to know what it's like there, you can ask Harper. He grew up on Earth."  
  
"If I can't go back to Earth...I guess I will have to stay here and invest some time in seeing what other options there are. Is there anything I can do to earn my keep while I'm here?"  
  
"We'll see about that once you're released from Medical Bay. I know exactly what you're going through, and I know it isn't easy to cope."  
  
"You know what I'm going through?"  
  
"I am 342 years old. I was stuck in a time loop for 300 years and everything drastically changed over that time."  
  
"I'm sorry...it's actually a lot easier to handle than I thought it would be. I didn't really have any family or friends that cared about me before."  
  
He was again silent for several seconds. "If you ever need to talk or have any questions, you're free to come to me."  
  
"Thank you. I'll go back to Medical Bay now." I walked slowly out of the room and into the corridor. It was so much to think about.  
  
A different alien passed me on the way. He was tall with olive tone skin and dressed in a dark outfit. Something about him gave me a bad feeling. I turned around and followed him. At a junction between corridors, he crouched down and hid himself. I wondered what he was up to. A few minutes passed as I watched him before he pulled out a dagger. I saw the other officer that had been with Captain Hunt when he spoke to me in Medical Bay, Beka I think was her name, walking by. I yelled a warning out as I ran towards the alien. She wasn't prepared for an attack, and he nearly stabbed her. I instinctively flung myself at him, allowing Beka to escaped unscathed. He was much stronger than me, but I had determination. I tried to escape from him when I saw Beka draw her weapon. I almost succeeded when I felt the dagger slip under my ribs. Beka fired on the alien, and he dropped to the ground. Blood gently flowed from the point of entry through my shirt. I knew the dagger was embedded near my heart and lungs. This couldn't be good.  
  
"Help me." I looked up at Beka with pleading eyes as I passed out.  
  
  
  



	9. Harper

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
I gotta learn to forget, there's no future in the past, only memories that fade.  
Sonique  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
I woke up as an arm shook me. "Harper! Harper!"  
  
"Yeah?" I opened my eyes to see Trance looking very worried.  
  
"Do you know where Lise went?"  
  
"She's gone?"  
  
"Yes, she's gone."  
  
"Are you gonna tie her up, too, when you find her?"   
  
"This is serious, Harper. She could have relapsed back into her previous state or even worse."  
  
I was worried, too. Probably even more worried than Trance. 'She probably just went to find something to eat or something,' I assured myself.  
  
"Trance, I need you at the end of the Medical Deck corridor immediately! Come prepared for a patient with severe wounds caused by a stabbing with a dagger that's possibly poisoned." Beka's voice filled Medical Bay.  
  
Trance grabbed several pieces of equipment and flew from the room. I kept telling myself it wasn't Lise, but I knew I was lying to myself. Beka would have said if it was Tyr or another crew member. I had become numb inside. I didn't want to cry, but I couldn't bear the thought of losing this again. Once had left me broken inside for years. I didn't even want to think about twice.  
  
Beka and Trace entered with Lise on a stretcher. Blood was everywhere, and her skin looked deathly pale. Trance moved her into the room where she performed surgeries. I wanted to know who had done this to Lise. I wanted to murder them with my own hands.   
  
"What happened, Beka?" I stayed strong, hiding all of my pain.  
  
"One of the Messinans attempted to attack me. She yelled for me to watch out and threw herself at him. He stabbed her and that gave me a chance to shoot him. She saved my life."   
  
"It doesn't look good."  
  
"Trance doesn't know if she'll pull through or not. She lost a lot of blood, and the dagger had a potent poison on its blade."  
  
I nodded, and Beka walked out.   
  
An hour passed. The longest hour of my life by far. Trance emerged from the room. She didn't say anything to me at first, and I expected the worst.  
  
"I've done all I can do. Only time will tell." She plopped down into a chair, exhausted.  
  
"Can I go see her?"  
  
"She's not conscious, but you can."  
  
I walked into the room Lise was recovering in. Her eyes were closed, and she was connected to a life support unit. The series of soft bleeps were comforting. She still had a chance. I walked to the head of the bed and took one of her hands in both of mine.  
  
"I know you can't hear me, Lise, but I need to tell you this in case I don't have the chance again. There's a reason I risked myself to go in your mind and save you. I haven't told anyone this, and it isn't easy talking about it. Seven years ago, I left Earth on a shuttle with twenty other people. I met this girl. She was just amazing. We both ended up going to work on a freighter as engineers. Her name was Delaney. Del, well she and I were the only people from Earth on the freighter. So we spent a lot of time together and eventually fell in love. It was like some sort of fairy tale come true. I wanted to be with her forever. We spent a year together on the freighter. It was a horrible job to have and the living conditions were hell, but it was the best year of my life. Then, the freighter was attacked, and I lost Del. You're probably asking yourself what any of this has to do with you. Well, I was in your head and I know you better than I know myself. Every nuance of your personality, your body, just everything...it's what Del was. I don't know how or why, but you're exactly like she was. And I love you like I loved her. Maybe you got put in that biostasis unit to give me some sort of second chance. I don't know what I'll do if I lose you, too. Lise, I love you." I knew it wasn't like me to pour out my emotions to someone. I felt like a fool for telling all this to someone who probably couldn't hear me. I hadn't been at all like myself lately. But how could I be myself when the only women I ever really loved was back from the dead?  
  
  
I calmed down and left her. Trance watched me strangely as I sat down on the edge of my bed. I felt so lonely and empty inside. Why did Lise have to suddenly appear, just when I had started to bury the memories of Del? And if she lives, she will end up on some planet somewhere, and I'll never see her again. Every story ends with a broken heart for me.   
  
"Harper, you'll feel better if you sleep. Do you want me to give you a sedative?"  
  
I had always refused sedatives in the past. They left me groggy and incoherent for too long. But now I would appreciate those effects more than anything. "Yeah."  
  
Trance prepared and gave me a hypo of sedative. I grew tired quickly and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.   
  



	10. Tyr

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough.  
Frank Crane  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
A young girl who appears to be innocent mysteriously comes on board Andromeda, supposedly from a biostasis unit floating out in space. She says she is from the distant past, and even has belongings from the period to support this. It causes Dylan to pity her because of his own experiences with time suspension. Beka didn't trust the girl, but then she conveniently rescues Beka from a Messinan who was going to attack her, taking the blade herself. Trance said that the girl had organized some supplies for her. She had been very friendly to Rev in the corridor when they met, according to him, even though she was frightened. From what I had seen in Medical Bay, Harper didn't need any extra kindness or good deeds from her to cause him to be fond of her. She was gaining the trust and affection of every crew member. I didn't trust any of this, especially Lise Bennett. I was almost certain she had a secret agenda. I just had to find out what it was.  
  
I headed down to Medical Bay after my shift was over. Trance was sitting in a chair. She looked to be near the point of passing out from sheer exhaustion. Harper was sound asleep in his bed, and the girl was probably in a recovery room. I wondered if this could be turned into an opportunity for me.  
  
"Trance, you don't look very well."   
  
"I'm just a little tired, Tyr. I'll be fine."  
  
"You should get some rest. I just finished my shift. I'll watch things here for you if you want to go take a nap."  
  
"You don't have to do that."  
  
"I don't have any other plans. You can't function well if you don't get enough rest."  
  
"All right. Thanks, Tyr. But if Lise's readings change, make sure you get me immediately."  
  
"I will."  
  
She walked out of Medical Bay. I waited several minutes before checking in the recovery room. The girl was unconscious, hooked up to many monitors. Her readings were stable. I returned to the clinic portion of Medical Bay and began looking for that knapsack with her belongings in it. It was the most likely place a clue to this mystery would be. I found it, and began meticulously inspecting the contents. She owned a lot of discs, a few I heard Beka and Harper calling extremely rare. She also owned a little machine that displayed graphics that could be controlled by an arrow pad. Several pieces of clothing were in the knapsack. Nothing peculiar yet. I was nearing the bottom of the contents and wondered if I could be wrong about this. I, then, found a small book. I opened it and skimmed over the contents. Nothing proved interesting until the last few pages.  
  
  
  
'I can't help but feel guilty about the recent expansion of our covert operations. There is no feeling worse than using people, but I've put myself in a position where there is no other choice. I definitely found the wrong crowd to spend time with. And now I'm paying for it. I'm so afraid I'm going to get caught. One of them seems suspicious of my actions and intentions. If I back out now, though, I don't know what they'll do to me. I only have to keep this up for two more days, and then it's all over.'  
  
  
  
She was part of a covert operation. I must be the suspicious one. She should have hidden her log book better. I didn't bother reading anymore of it. I knew what I needed to know. We had only two days to save ourselves from whatever she planned to do, though. I kept the log book, as evidence to show Dylan. She needed to be interrogated the first second she regained consciousness. 


	11. Beka

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The man who trusts men will make fewer mistakes that he who distrusts them.  
Conte Di Camillo Benso Cavour  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
The journey to Utrecht had been a thought-filled one for me. I had never been a very trusting person by nature. With a brother like mine, though, being wary about everything was a must. So I didn't trust Lise Bennett at all in the beginning. I wanted to ditch her on the next available planet regardless of the conditions. Most of those we have placed trust in in the past took advantage of us, some nearly destroying Andromeda in the process. Then, Lise saved my life from that Messinan's attack in the corridor. I considered the fact that it was planned, but then I thought about the severity of her injury. It wasn't necessary for her to actually risk herself if she had made a deal with the Messinan. I still wasn't sure about her intentions, but I felt obligated to give her a fair chance.   
  
Rommie's hologram form appeared. "I'm detecting a heavily armed ship with a malfunctioning cloaking device following us."  
  
"How far away is the ship?"   
  
"Less than two light minutes from our current position and closing in. The ship is powering up its weapons."  
  
"We are being hailed," Rev said.  
  
"Dylan, Tyr, we need you on the Command Deck!" I had a bad feeling about this.  
  
Dylan was the first to arrive. "What happened?"  
  
"A ship was following us. It has just powered up weapons and is hailing us."  
  
"Be ready to go into slipstream, Beka. Open the frequency." Dylan stood confidently at the center of the Command Deck in front of the view screen.  
  
A dark, omnious creature appeared on the view screen. Its glowing eyes were blood red, slanted like that of a cat. As it opened its mouth to speak, I caught a glimpse of its huge pointed fangs. "We have found you. Give us what is ours or we will board your ship, destroy you and take it ourselves."  
  
"What do we have that is yours?" Dylan asked.  
  
"You know what what you have stolen. You have two of your minutes to return it." The communications channel was abruptly cut off.  
  
Tyr appoached the front of the Command Deck with a small book in his hand. "Read this. It belongs to the girl."  
  
Dylan and I read a paragraph from a small log book or journal. It spoke of some sort of plan that she felt guilty about going on with. It said this would all end in two days. It had been almost two days since we found her. Maybe she was deceiving us and working secretly for these aliens.  
  
"Tyr, take us into slipstream and avoid further contact with the aliens. Beka, we're going down to Medical Bay to see what all this is about." Dylan took the book from Tyr.  
  
Tyr went into slipstream, and we hurried down to Medical Bay.   
  
"Is she still in recovery?" Dylan asked Trance.  
  
"Yes. But she isn't conscious."  
  
"Could you wake her up?"  
  
"It wouldn't be advisable, but, yes, I can."  
  
"Do it."  
  
We walked into the room. Trance gave Lise a hypo, and within a few seconds, she opened her eyes. She tried to move and groaned in pain.  
  
"Who are you working for?" Dylan asked, apparently trying to control his anger.  
  
"Working for? What do you mean?" She acted as if she knew nothing about what he was asking.  
  
He pulled up her journal. "'I can't help but feel guilty about the recent expansion of our covert operations. There is no feeling worse than using people, but I've put myself in a position where there is no other choice. I definitely found the wrong crowd to spend time with. And now I'm paying for it. I'm so afraid I'm going to get caught. One of them seems suspicious of my actions and intentions. If I back out now, though, I don't know what they'll do to me. I only have to keep this up for two more days, and then it's all over.' Sound familiar?"  
  
"That's from my diary! Why were you reading my diary?"  
  
"What is this covert operation?" I asked.  
  
"It was to ruin a school dance hosted by a group of people that had humiliated me. I don't work for anyone. Turn the diary back about eight or ten pages and it clarifies what the covert operation is."  
  
"She's right." Dylan was reading a few pages back.   
  
"Then, why are these aliens chasing us?" I asked.  
  
"I plan on finding that out," Dylan said.  
  
"I still don't know how I got into space. Maybe I have something to do with this," Lise said.   
  
"But why would they want you? You don't know anything, and you aren't a leader," I said.  
  
"I don't know, but I can't think of anything else we've taken on board recently," Dylan said.  
  
"This just keeps getting more and more mysterious," I said. "There has to be a reason they want her."  
  
"Dylan, Beka, they're following us through slipstream. You should get back to the Command Deck immediately." Tyr's voice filled Medical Deck.  
  



	12. Harper

---------------------------------------------------------------  
So live that your memories will be part of your happiness.  
Author Unknown  
---------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
My eyes flew open. My heart pounded, its beats in quick succession. When I glanced down at my chest, I could see each individual heart beat and every jagged breath I took. I felt like hell. Where was I? I propped myself up on my elbows. Beads of cold sweat ran down my face. I gazed at all of the equipment and realized I was in Medical Bay. Oh yeah, the sedative. Now I remembered everything. My lack of lethargy and grogginess didn't make much sense, though.  
  
I had a theory for the recent occurrences. It was more a fact than a theory, because I just knew I had to be right. I needed confirmation for the benefit of the others, though. I needed to escape from Medical Bay for just a few minutes. I strained to listen for Trance. I heard nothing and assumed she'd decided to take a nap or something. Leaving me alone wasn't like her, however. She knows me too well for that.  
  
I heard two voices, then. They were both in Lise's recovery room. One of them was definitely Dylan. The other had to be Beka. Escaping with them here would be difficult. Silence was vital to my success. I dangled my feet over the edge of my bed and prepared to make my attempt. One foot and then the other made contact with the cool metal. Maybe this wouldn't be as difficult as I had anticipated. I bore all my weight on the balls of my feet. I took my first cautious step, then another. Feline in stride. One foot and then the other. Only a single step remaining.  
  
My last step scraped against the deck below. I was out of there in a dash. I pushed myself to the limit, convinced Trance was chasing me down the corridor. I didn't stop running until I was in my quarters with the door locked behind me. I was out of breath and nauseous, but I made it. That was all that mattered right now. I stumbled to my cabinet and pulled the top drawer open. Sometimes I was thankful I thought to be prepared for such a situation. I grabbed the hypo hastily, nearly dropping it on the floor in the process, and pressed it into my neck. Within a few seconds, I was granted a sweet reprieve from my physical symptoms. Though even then, the familiar pain loomed over my heart.  
  
I took a deep, cleansing breath and approached my bed. This wasn't going to be easy. I crouched down when I reached the bed's edge. One more breath of preparation, and I pulled the box out from underneath my bed. It was just an ordinary storage container, but it held a lot more than that inside. All of those repressed emotions began resurfacing. The pain was almost unbearable. Wounds I thought had healed years ago revealed they were all but healed. I involuntarily flashed back to that day I would never forget…  
  
  
  
I was in my tiny quarters aboard the freighter Redevance. I had finished my work early and decided to fiddle with some of my projects I had begun with salvaged parts. I was too wrapped up in my work to notice the door sliding open behind me.  
  
"Guess who!" A pair of warm hands wrapped around my eyes.   
  
I smiled and decided to play her little game. "Carter?"  
  
"No, silly!"   
  
"Well, then, how about Xavier?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Then I know who it has to be!"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The boogie man!" I turned around and swung the giggling Delaney off of her feet.  
  
"You're funny, Shay." I wouldn't let anyone else call me Shay. I hated that nickname with a passion. I only loved it when she called me it. "I missed you all day. Working isn't as fun without you."  
  
"I don't think we'll be working together for quite awhile after yesterday, baby." A grin spread across my face in memory of it all.   
  
"Poor Carter." She blushed. "I feel bad about it."  
  
"Good old Carter's seen a lot worse than that. I'm sure he really liked it before we saw him. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if we found him watching the surveillance of that in his quarters."  
  
She laughed. "You're horrible."   
  
I kissed her, wrapping my arms around her small frame. I had never been so happy in my life. I trailed my kisses down her jaw line to her neck. She seemed to melt into me. I ran my fingers through her long, curly red hair. It was soft and smelled like jasmine. I brushed my hand down her back. Her body was lithe and her muscles toned. She had the body of a dancer. I was soon immersed in everything, her gentle strength, confidence, mystery, sweetness, essence, the unbelievable woman she was.   
  
I lost all contact with the outside world until the claxons signaled the warning of an incoming ship. I didn't care. I continued expressing my love to her. The ship would go away soon enough. What would they need a couple of inexperienced young engineers for?  
  
"We've got to go to engineering, Shay," she whispered.  
  
"C'mon. They're not gonna need us. And I'm in no condition to work anyway." I grinned before I covered her mouth with an ardent kiss to prevent her from further debating this.  
  
The Redevance shuddered violently, causing the both of us to crash into a wall. Whatever had attacked us was a force to be reckoned with. I felt guilty about ignoring the warning claxons, but all's fair in true love and war, right? Pain shot down my right arm, and I knew I had at least sprained if not dislocated my shoulder. It felt as if I had taken the bulk of the impact, but I was still worried about Delaney.  
  
"Del? You okay?" I helped her to her feet.  
  
"A little shaken." I took her with my good arm, and we began our journey to the engines.  
  
"I like my martini shaken, not stirred." I laughed. "Harper. Seamus Harper. Double O seven at your service."  
  
"You're hurt, Shay!" She touched my shoulder, and I winced in pain.  
  
"No, I'm fine. Really. We've got to get to the engines."   
  
Sparks were flying around us, and I was reminded of the few action movies I had seen with Carter in his quarters. They were exciting, but this was terrifying. With every step, I wished that I would make another. Four corridors felt like four miles.  
  
"It's all on fire!" she screamed as we neared engineering. "We're too late!"  
  
"All hands this is your Captain. Report to the nearest escape pod immediately." The voice held a promise of impending doom.  
  
We met Carter at a junction between corridors, and he followed us. He had been burned, but his wounds weren't very severe. The escape pods were no more than twenty feet away when I heard a horrible sound, a creaking above me.  
  
"Shay!" I felt Del push me into a wall and heard a loud clanging. When I looked up, I saw a beam had fallen on her.  
  
"Del!" I screamed in agony. I disregarded my pain and carried her to the escape pods, which were made to hold three people each. Carter was right behind me.  
  
"You all right, Harper?" Carter looked down at me holding Del in my arms.  
  
"I love you, Del. Forever." My words were gentle and quiet.  
  
"I love you, too, Shay. This isn't goodbye. We'll be together again. I promise…" Her last words were barely above a whisper.  
  
I had always wanted to appear strong in front of Carter, but that didn't matter anymore. My love was gone, and nothing else in the universe mattered. Worst of all, it was my fault she was gone. If I had it to do again, I would have taken that beam to spare her. But I didn't have a second chance. She was gone because of me.  
  
"Harper…I'm sorry." Carter laid a hand on my uninjured shoulder.  
  
"Why was it her and not me? She deserved to live. She had a bright future in front of her. All I've got is my Earth heritage and a little bit of knowledge in engineering. She had so much more. And I loved her more than anything." I was sobbing, and thought nothing could provide me with comfort. "I'd do anything for a second chance, really I would."  
  
"Maybe you'll get one someday, Harper. You're still young. Don't forget that." Somehow, Carter's words comforted me.   
  
I glanced down at Delaney's form again. Other than the blood soaked white sweater, she looked as if she were serenely sleeping. I was surprised I didn't miss her already or didn't hurt as much as I thought I would. The pain and missing her didn't really sink in for several hours. Her funeral was the time I realized this was all real, and she wouldn't be back. I wouldn't have my second chance. That was when I knew my heart would always have a hole in it where she had been. Where she always would be.  
  
  
  
The tears flowed freely again as I pulled the lid back on the box. Its contents were as I had left them all those years ago. Her sweater was on the top of the pile, and I clutched it to my chest. It still possessed her sweet scent. I wiped my tears away before running out into the corridor. I ran all the way back to Medical Deck, putting my emotions into my pounding footsteps. I had to avoid the pain. Tears were a sign of weakness, and I wasn't supposed vulnerable. I could conquer these emotions instead of allowing them to eat me from the inside out. By the time I reached Medical Bay, my eyes were dry again, and I had taken somewhat of a hold on myself.  
  
I had one of the two required materials for what I had to do. I walked around, searching for the other material I needed. I found it and scanned both of them. My theories were confirmed, only the results were opposite of what I had thought they would be. Still, I was close to right and now knew. No one had to know that I was initially wrong. Harper's always supposed to be right and who am I to break that record?  
  
I walked into Lise's recovery room. Beka and Dylan were still there, as I had hoped. "I have solved the mystery of Lise's origin!" I exclaimed triumphantly.  



	13. Lise

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The bravest thing you can do when you are not brave is to profess courage and act accordingly.  
Corra Harris  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
My mind was teeming with new memories and information. The longer I remained conscious, the more memories resurfaced. I felt fortunate that the memories chose to return to the accessible portion of my mind now. I had in my hands the key to saving the Andromeda. The only thing was putting the images and words into action. At one point in time, I knew and understood what was in my mind, but now I didn't. I hoped the knowledge I required to utilize the data would make its grand appearance soon.  
  
"Harper, I'm trying to figure it all out. Maybe you know something that would make me remember more."  
  
"You are the model for at least one clone. Someone was keeping you captive in the biostasis unit until they needed some more of your genes for their purposes."  
  
"Cloning. Damn them." More memories flashed into my mind. "The Nefile. Those red eyes and evil cat claws."  
  
"That's them all right. Do you remember anything that can help us?" Dylan asked.  
  
"Yeah. First of all, they aren't big on diplomacy and negotiation. Violence is their way I know how to help you, though...But you're going to have to let me do this. It's all here in my mind, but I don't think I can describe it. Who's the engineer on this ship?"  
  
"I am," Harper said.  
  
"For this to work, you need to make some changes to a few, five should be sufficient actually, kinetic missiles. I don't know what a lot its parts are called but I can draw it. There's a pen in my jeans over there."  
  
Harper reached into the pocket and pulled out a pen. I grabbed the pen from him and took his hand. One of the green patches was ovular and similar to kinetic missile. I began drawing what needed to be done.   
  
"Yeah, I think I know what you want me to do. It shouldn't take more than half an hour."  
  
"Then, go get started on it, Harper. We don't have much time," Dylan said.  
  
I still couldn't believe he was trusting me. "Before firing the kinetic missiles, we have to fire the lasers in a specific blast pattern. I drew the pattern on my own arm. "It looks like this."  
  
"We can only stay in slipstream ten to fifteen more minutes." A voice came out of no where in the room.  
  
"We're working as fast as we can Tyr. Try to stay in slipstream as long as you can."  
  
"If we have to stall, I can talk to the Nefile from your communications area. It's me they want after all."  
  
"We'll see what happens. You may have to do that when the time comes. We need to go program the blast pattern right now, though, before we have to use it."  
  
"Tell Trance to let me out of here, then. I'm not that hurt." I knew I was lying about not being very injured, but I would manage for the time being.  
  
Dylan walked outside of the room, to speak to Trance I assumed, and I was left with Beka.  
  
"How do you know this is going to work?" Beka asked.  
  
"I've put it all into action before, and it worked like a charm. Except when I did it, it involved escaping from a high security prison cell and secretly learning everything about shuttles and modern warfare in the matter of a week."  
  
"What if the Nefile made modulations to prevent your plan from working?"  
  
"They didn't. No one knew what hit them, and none of the Nefile figured out what I had done. After they had me apprehended, it became unimportant how I had done everything. They just put me in biostasis again and went on with their business. It's the way they work."  
  
"Why are they cloning you?"  
  
"After they perfect my personality and make my clones appear genetically idential to me instead of having the residual effects that show up in scans, they plan to infiltrate several places and cause damage. I'm not sure exactly what they're going to do, but trust me on this. It won't be pretty or good."  
  
I could hear Trance and Dylan arguing outside of the room. Trance obviously was against me leaving Medical Bay as of yet, but we both really had no choice in the matter. One does what they have to do, regardless of whether they are injured or not. The welfare of the majority was more important than mine.  
  
"I haven't had the chance yet, but thanks for saving me back in the corridor."  
  
"You don't have to thank me."  
  
"You risked your life for me, a person you've barely met."  
  
"Harper risked his life to save me, and he didn't even know my name. He knew nothing about me. That whole experience has changed my outlook on things."  
  
"How old are you?"  
  
"Over eight thousand years."  
  
"No, I mean how long have you been out of biostasis?"  
  
I didn't know whether a lie or the truth would be better. I opted for the truth. "Sixteen years."  
  
"Wow. We all thought you were eighteen or nineteen."  
  
"I've never been, and I never will be, the average teenager."  
  
Trance and Dylan walked in. Trance released the equipment covering my body and gave me a hypo. She had evidently lost the argument of whether I would leave this bed or not.   
  
"You can't get up yet. Let me get something to support your injuries." She hurried out of the room and returned with a hard blue plastic-like apparatus. She wrapped it around my back and rib cage before fastening it. "That should keep you from reopening the internal wounds."  
  
"Thank you. Do you have my stuff? It's in a blue bag. I know it went into the biostasis unit with me."  
  
"Yes. It's in the clinic," Trance replied.  
  
I stood and the pain filled my chest cavity. I took a few slow steps before the pain killer set in. I walked almost normally into the clinic and found my bag. I pulled out my black leather jacket and slipped it on. I fastened it up to where the support ended. Displaying my weakness to the Neflile if I had to speak with them would be unwise.  
  
"I'm ready," I said.  
  
"We're going to the Command Deck now," Dylan said.  
  
I followed behind Beka and him, trying to walk quickly enough. The pain killer only did so much. The pain was intolerable if I jarred my torso very much. I didn't want to begin internally bleeding again, either. But we didn't have the commodity of time for me to be careful.   
  
We arrived at the Command Deck, and I was nothing short of amazed. It was beautiful. I ran my hand along a rail. "Wow, this is just awe inspiring. It's just...wow."  
  
"Thank you." I saw a gorgeous hologramatic appear on the screen nearest to me.  
  
"You're welcome." I had already come up with a million questions to ask, but they had to wait for a more opportune time.  
  
"This is the weapons console," I said, looking down at a console near me.  
  
"Yes, it is," Dylan replied.  
  
"I don't remember ever doing this, but I think I know how." I began plugging the numbers into the console, shocked I could even read any of it at all. It was just second instinct, like breathing. But I only knew the single sequence and no others.  
  
"You're fast. And you did it perfectly as far as I can see," Dylan said. He opened a communications line. "Harper, how long until the kinetic missiles are ready?"  
  
"I've got one finished, and it's going to go quicker from here on out, boss. Give me five or ten more minutes."  
  
"We can only stay in slipstream for two more minutes maximum," Beka said as she manned the controls.  
  
Two minutes passed more quickly than I wanted them to. The ship ended its trip in slipstream, the Nefile ship in close pursuit. I was going to have to talk to the scum of the universe. For at least a few minutes. How could I stall for that long? Then, the plan formed in my mind. I knew exactly how to stall that long.  
  
"Captain Hunt! I know how I can keep them entertained for at least five minutes!" I explained my plan to him in the least detail possible.  



	14. The Nefile/Beka

-----------------------------------------------------  
Fortune helps the brave.  
Publius Terentius Afer (190 BC - 159 BC), Phormio  
-----------------------------------------------------  
  
  
"Prrrahktrrrel, the ship is leaving slipstrrream." Rorquer vigilantly watched the sensors.  
  
I moved the vessel back into regular space, in close pursuit of the small ship. It would be so easy to destroy them here and now, but I couldn't do that. Our most valuable possession was aboard. "Hail them, Narrrian."  
  
"Yes, sirrr." The frequency was opened.  
  
Our subject was standing in the center of the ship's control area with a gun in her hand. The crew all had looks of defeat and fear on their faces. She turned in a circle around the control area, aiming her gun at every one of them, obviously as a warning. She turned back to face me and crossed one of her arms over her chest.  
  
"Bennett, what have you done?" I asked her.  
  
"What does it look like? I've got a ship of my own now."  
  
"My possessions do not need theirrr own vessels."  
  
"You've got a lot to learn."  
  
"Take a shuttle back to this vessel, or we will board yourrrs and take you ourrrselves."  
  
"And the second you start that, I'm going to blow this ship into oblivion." She crossed the deck with aplomb and an air of arrogance.   
  
"You would not do that."  
  
"You wanna test me, kitty boy?" She was dead serious, I realized.   
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"I don't wanna be your Ice Queen anymore. I want to use this vessel and be an agent for you."  
  
"You arrre lying."  
  
She drew the weapon and shot one of the crew, the one that appeared to be the captain. He fell on the floor face down. "Do I look like I'm lying?"  
  
"You would not kill the otherrrs."  
  
"I don't give a damn about a single one of them. And if I'm in that ice box ever again, then I don't give a damn whether I live or die."  
  
"I'll destrrroy yourrr vessel, then."  
  
"No, you won't. I'm too valuable to you. You need me."  
  
She was correct. I did need her for the success of our mission. And success was a higher priority than anything else. I could always lie to her. "Yourrr prrroject has been cancelled."  
  
"Then, why are you here?"  
  
A young blond human ran into the area suddenly. She trained her weapon on him for a moment. "Who is this?"  
  
"This is my selected mate."  
  
She had even taken a mate. She seemed serious about commanding this vessel. "He is weak. You want yourrr offsprrring to be rrrunts?"  
  
"He has hidden strengths. And my selection has nothing to do with you." She grabbed the young man and pinned him to the deck below. My eyes and the eyes of my crew were glued on her. She had to want this command more than anything to do this. She released a feral growl as she straddled him.  
  
"There are lasers and missiles firing at us!"  
  
It was too late. I watched the small explosions and braced myself for the larger one that was to come. The young human had outsmarted us. But this wouldn't be the end. Maybe I was the fleet commander, but there would be another opportunity. And she would pay for this.  
  
  
*************************************************************************  
  
The explosion was almost beautiful. The Nefile ship was no longer a threat to anyone or anything. I watched Lise release Harper and move to her feet again, blushing slightly.   
  
"I thought I was actually gonna get some," Harper said sarcastically.  
  
Lise laughed and then clutched her lower rib cage, groaning in pain. "It's part of the way they take command of a ship. They kill the captain first of all. Are you all right, Captain Hunt?"  
  
"I'm fine. The pad absorbed most of the blast."  
  
"What else do they do?" Harper asked.  
  
"Then they choose a mate from the crew. And they...consummate that relationship in front of the rest of the crew for reasons beyond that which I understand. Guess they're just a bunch of sick kitties."  
  
"How are you feeling, Lise?" I asked.   
  
"I would be lying if I said I was feeling fine. The pain killer is wearing off."  
  
"The threat is gone now. You can go back to Medical Bay," Dylan said. "As well as you, Harper."  
  
The pair walked off of the Command Deck together. I wondered what would become of Lise. Dylan said she told him that she didn't want to be a burden to the crew. He expected her to rush through the process of choosing a new home. I would have been happy if I had heard that thirty-six hours ago. But now I felt she deserved more than that. I would talk to Dylan about it later. Right now, we had to get the Messinans to Utrecht.  
  
  
  



	15. Trance

------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what's right.  
Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992)  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
I was humming while I did secondary checks on the equipment in Medical Bay. I passed Lise's recovery room and heard Harper to to her. I would have had to spend a lot of time with her, because to speed her recovery I was forced to paralyze her body from the neck down, but Harper was spending every free moment with her. He fed her, made sure she wasn't lonely, and with a little training, learned to administer her medication. The place he hated the most before was now the place he was practically living. I had even caught him sleeping by her bed once.  
  
I hadn't made a habit of eavesdropping and realized how rude it was, but I heard my name mentioned in their conversation and couldn't help listening.  
  
"...Trance do the procedure?" Lise asked.  
  
"No, I had the procedure done before I came on board Andromeda," Harper replied.   
  
I grew curious as to what they were talking about and stood beside the door where I could hear them more clearly.  
  
"What does it do?" Lise asked.  
  
"I can interface with computers or download encyclopedias of data using a jack," Harper said.  
  
They were talking about Harper's cerebral port. Why would Lise be so interested in it, though?  
  
"Wow...how do you go about getting the procedure done?"  
  
"I had it done...well, illegally. Six years ago. I pulled a few favors and bought the port on the black market. Only large medical facilities can legally obtain them. But don't tell anyone about that."  
  
I learned new things about Harper everyday. I thought he had the port installed shortly after leaving Earth in a clinic on Beta Allius. At least that's what he said to me when I met him. I understood why he lied, though. It was a very risky business, and he could find himself in a lot of trouble if certain people knew.  
  
"Why did you do it?" Lise asked.  
  
"I wanted to be a better engineer. You and I are from Earth, Lise. We aren't genetically enhanced. We're considered the scum of the galaxy. But you and I both know we're nothing like that. So I had to be exceptional to show everyone else, ya know? Not that I wasn't a freakin' genius before. It just made everything a little easier and faster to do."  
  
"Theoretically, could one learn everything the average person knows and then some in...oh, let's say a week or two?"  
  
"Theoretically, yeah."  
  
"Where is this port black market?"  
  
"Oh no you don't, Lise!" His voice was surprisingly angry, but in a protective way. I could tell how much he cared about Lise and her well-being.  
  
"Why not?" She sounded a little intimidated, maybe even frightened, by Harper's tone.  
  
"It's dangerous! You could get an infection and die! Or you could be rendered a human vegetable if the surgery isn't done right! It's just not worth it, Lise!"  
  
"Maybe those risks don't matter to me, Harper. I'm young, and I have a lot of years ahead of me. It would take me an entire lifetime just to catch up with what you know now. If I had the port, I might be able to lead a normal life here. I didn't choose to be here eight thousand years behind everyone. I don't really even belong here, but I'm trying to make the best of it, and I can't do that unless I get this thing."  
  
A few moments of silence passed, and I heard Harper sigh. "I'm sorry for getting mad. I just don't want to see you hurt, baby. And it's very likely you won't even come out of this with your life."  
  
"I know. But making a contribution to society or at least doing something other than slaving over books to try to learn everything I've missed...that's what I want. The rewards would be worth the risks. I want a real life."  
  
"Well, we're gonna be at Utrecht in a few hours. I know where we could get a port, if it means this much to you. You've got a couple of discs that I know this guy would trade a port for."  
  
"If we do get it, how am I going to get it..installed?"  
  
My eyes had been opened to the harsh reality Lise was facing. She made a good point about eight thousand years taking such a long time to catch up on, too. I knew it was illegal, and probably morally inacceptable, but she needed this. I knew what I had to do. I gathered up my confidence and courage.  
  
"I will," I said as I walked into the recovery room.  
  
"Trance, you were eavesdropping!" Harper was pretending to be indignant, but the grin he always wore in Lise's presence soon returned.  
  
"We need to talk to Dylan before we do anything, though." I didn't want to upset Dylan. He had been like a father to me since I joined the crew, and I had no desire to ruin our relationship.  
  
Harper's expression quickly changed to solemn, and he grew pensive and silent.   
  
"But he won't let me do this, will he?" she asked.  
  
"I don't know, but we have to try. I'll talk to him," I replied.  
  
"Would you do that now, Trance? We're getting close to Utrecht." Harper ended his silence.  
  
"Yeah, I'll do that." I walked out of the recovery room.   
  
Why did I always get caught up in Harper's schemes? Although this one was for a just cause, and I believed that it would only benefit Lise if the surgery was successful. And if it wasn't, she was right that she didn't belong here in her current state. She could be an assistant of some sort filing papers or an intergalatic trash collector, but what she would really be capable of if she had the common man's knowledge was so much more than that. Harper and she were really both the same breed of lost soul. He had been through what she was going through.  
  
I left Medical Deck and eventually found that Dylan was in his quarters. I rang the door buzzer and waited patiently for him to respond. He told me to come in, and I did. The words weren't going to come easily, but when did they really? I collected my thoughts and approached him.   
  
"Captain Hunt," I began.  
  
"Trance, we're on a first name basis."  
  
"Sorry, Dylan. There's something that I have to ask you, and it's not a simple matter of right or wrong. There are so many exceptions involved, but I do feel that it's the right thing to do."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Lise wants to get a cerebral port, but as you know there's a lot involved in getting one through a facility. And her circumstances would probably immediately eliminate her from qualifying."  
  
"Are you suggesting we illegally acquire one?"  
  
"Yes. Harper said he knows a place on Utrecht where he can get one. And Lise has what would be required to purchase it. I know how to do the procedure once we have it."  
  
He was silent for a few minutes, deep in contemplation. "The Commonwealth doesn't support this kind of activity."  
  
"Lise isn't the average person. She's eight thousand years behind and doesn't really belong here. She has so much potential, but she can't utilize it without the common knowledge that we all have. She wants to do something with her life and try to make the best of being here. Are you saying that we're going to take that chance away from her?"  
  
"No, I was saying...but I understand how exceptional this case is."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"I had a lot of trouble catching up on 300 years. I can't imagine what it's like being her."  
  
"She's taking it very well considering everything."  
  
"Does she understand the risks involved with cerebral ports?"  
  
"Harper explained them to her. And she's more than willing to take the risks. I'm sure that Harper will make sure we take all the necessary safety precautions."  
  
"He will?"  
  
"He's taken quite a liking to Lise. He spends every second off duty with her."  
  
Dylan smiled. "I wondered why he's been twice as productive in repairing everything since he was released."  
  
"Is it the medication I gave him?" I asked, somewhat confused.  
  
"No, he's fallen to a different disease."  
  
"I didn't see anything on his scans."  
  
Dylan chuckled. "There is no cure, Trance. It's the love bug."  
  
"Ah. I'm releasing Lise in about an hour. Do she and Harper have your permission to travel to the surface of Utrecht?"  
  
"I think I'll send Beka down with them, too. She's spent a lot of time of the planet in the past when she was commanding the Maru. I'm sure she would like the time away from Andromeda, too."  
  
"I'll tell Harper and Lise. Thank you, sir." I smiled and leaned down to hug him. "You're doing the right thing."  
  
"I hope so, Trance." He returned to reading, and I exited his quarters.  
  
I hurried down to Medical Bay to give Harper and Lise the good news.  
  
"What did the boss say?" Harper asked.  
  
"Beka's going down to the planet with you and Lise. And Lise, your wounds have healed and I'm releasing you from Medical Bay. I don't recommend running around quite yet, though. Take it easy."  
  
"I will." I released her from the bed, and she stood up. "I'm good as new!"  
  
Harper hugged her, and they left Medical Bay together, talking about their plans for Utrecht. I hoped all would go well for both of their sakes. 


	16. Beka

-------------------------------------------------------------------  
A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.  
Lao-Tsu, The Way of Lao-Tsu  
-------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
The muscles already burned with every movement. '81...82...83.' My back was numb from the pressure against the hard black bench. '86...87.' My breathing had to be controlled with an iron fist or I would hyperventilate. '91...92.' But I was going to do this. I wasn't going to humiliate myself. '96...97.' I glanced over at Tyr, wondering if he could see my strain, if he knew I was close to losing it. '101...102.' Exhaustion was an understatement, but I wouldn't allow it to control me. '105...106.' Twenty pounds had turned into two hundred. The burning of my every sinew ceased, tranforming my arms into near lead. '108...109.' Only one more, and sweet victory was mine. '110!' I dropped the barbells, allowing my arms to fall to my sides, and closed my eyes. Triumph tastes much sweeter when one isn't on the verge of collapsing.  
  
"Beka, are you all right?" Tyr was standing over me. I could hear his voice, but couldn't open my eyes.  
  
I groaned. I didn't want to move, but I knew I had to stretch or I would definitely be feeling this tomorrow. I forced myself into an upright position and began stretching my sore body. "I'm fine, Tyr."  
  
Dylan walked into the room. "Beka, we're going to be at Utrecht in an hour. I want to talk to you before then, but I'll let you finish exercising first."  
  
"I was just leaving. You owe me, Tyr." I grabbed a towel from the rack and draped it over my shoulders before turning around and smiling at Tyr. I walked out into the corridor with Dylan.  
  
"I want you to go down to the planet with Harper and Lise."  
  
"Why?" I would have said more, but speaking took extra air I didn't have.  
  
"They'll fill you in on the details. There's something we need to acquire. Be in the Hangar Deck in forty five minutes. You're free to take a shower and rest before then."  
  
"I could really use both."   
  
I returned to my quarters, tossing the towel onto my dresser. I looked at myself in the full-length mirror. My gray sports bra was drenched in sweat. Beads ran down all of my exposed skin. My hair was tangled and matted down. I looked like hell, and wasn't far off from feeling like it. No wonder Tyr was asking if I was all right.  
  
I threw off my clothes and took a long warm shower. It relaxed my tense muscles and put me in a much better mood. But I was still rather tired. I plopped down on my bed and set my alarm to go off ten minutes before I had to be in the Hangar Bay. I drifted off very quickly.  
  
The loud annoying alarm buzz pulled from a peaceful slumber. I didn't open my eyes, only grabbed the clock and flung it into the nearest wall. It still screamed its annoying song at me.  
  
"Damn it! Why did you have to put metal reinforcement around it Harper?!" I jumped out of bed and turned off the clock. I slammed it down in its place. The metal made a clanging noise before silence returned. This was probably the most abused alarm clock in the galaxy. I was not a morning person.   
  
I trudged over to my closet. 'Where am I going again? Oh, Utrecht. Yeah, that's right,' I thought groggily. Utrecht's society based a lot on physical appearances. Their belief was basically 'The tougher, the better.' I grabbed my leather outfit and changed into it. I would take my gun with me, making sure it was visible in my belt. But I hoped I wouldn't have to use it. It would all depend on the precinct. Some you avoided at all costs, but others weren't bad. A couple, like Bren and Falcha, were stopless parties. They were dominated by several gangs that often used innocent passers-by to induct members, if you weren't careful.  
  
I reported to the Hangar Bay to find Dylan, Harper and Lise already there. Lise acted apathetic, but I could tell she was at least a little bit nervous. Harper just looked thoughtful and serious Dylan was calm, as usual, but I could see the internal conflict in his blue eyes.  
  
"You're going down to Utrecht to acquire a cerebral port for Lise," he said.  
  
"That's illegal." I was stating the obvious, but I couldn't think of anything else to say. I knew Dylan wouldn't approve of something illegal without a good reason, but it still wasn't like him.  
  
"I need to learn thousands of years of history and technology to function here," Lise said. "And I can't really do that without a port to help me."  
  
She was correct. She had no modern knowledge, the knowledge that we took for granted. Without it, she couldn't do anything with her life. But if she did have a cerebral port and the right data rods, she could integrate into our world with ease. I understood Dylan's choice to allow her to do this and supported it.  
  
I assumed my role in this excursion was as a tour guide and guardian of Lise and Harper. This was a tough planet, and both of them, especially Lise, needed someone to watch over them who had spent time here. Getting lost could easily cause you to lose your life or make you really wish you had.  
  
"After the Messinans are safely on the planet's surface, you can take the Maru down," Dylan said.  
  
"The Maru knows Utrecht very well," I said, remembering all of those days living on the edge. Somtimes I missed that life of cons, running and the constant rush.  
  
"We're going to Falcha. I've got a friend there who's in the business. I found an ad from the planet post for his more...legal merchandise," Harper said.  
  
Falcha was one of those party precincts that wasn't extremely violent, but by no means was it a safe place. Being armed was a must. "Lise, you need a gun."   
  
"I don't like carrying weapons," she said.  
  
"You'd rather be mugged, raped, beaten and left for dead in a gutter by one of the gangs?" I knew it was harsh and probably scary for her to think about it, but I had to let her know what she was getting into.  
  
She shook her head, eyes trained on the ground. "I don't have a gun of my own."  
  
"You can use mine." Dylan handed her the gun from his belt.  
  
"But that's your gun," Lise protested.  
  
"I'll just get another one from the arsenal," he said.  
  
"Thank you." She hugged Dylan. "For everything. In case something happens to me."  
  
"I won't let anything happen to you. If you can't trust Beka Valentine then you can't trust anyone," I said. I meant it, too. Lise was the type of person that just grew on me with time.  
  
"I'm heading back to Command Deck. Good luck." Dylan exited the Hangar Bay.  
  
"Now, you get the honor of being a passenger aboard the great Maru," I said.  
  
"Is she your ship?" Lise asked.  
  
"Yes, she's my ship."  
  
"Wow. That would be amazing to own a ship and be able to fly it. I've flown a few small planes, but nothing near as cool as a space faring vessel."  
  
"You've flown a plane?" Harper asked.  
  
"Yeah. It's a lot of fun. I even have a pilot's license."  
  
"I would've loved to fly an old Earth plane as much as riding a Harley."  
  
"My best friend's dad had a Harley. I rode on it a few times. He even let me take it on a spin around the block once."  
  
"I'd love to stand around and chat, but we've got a mission," I interrupted.  
  
"Sorry Beka," Lise said.  
  
We boarded the Maru and flew down to the surface of Utrecht. I landed the Maru in one of the large gray shuttle lots. We exited the ship and were greeted by the familiar scent of burned shuttle parts. Every lot was the same. We walked closely together into the city part of Falcha. Lise was obviously in awe of the large buildings, bustle surrounding us and shuttles flying overhead.  
  
"Do you know where your friend is, Harper?" I asked him loudly, trying to get above the noise.  
  
"Yeah. He should be two streets over," Harper replied.  
  
Lise was staring at the shuttles, standing still. I grabbed her arm with one of my hands and Harper's with the other and pulled them both through the crowd. It took nearly ten minutes just to get to the next street, which fortunately wasn't as crowded. There were several bars and other establishments on this street.  
  
"What's that?" Lise asked, pointing at a neon lighted window with a large sign advertising female escorts.  
  
So she didn't know what a female escort service was. "Ask Harper. He knows a lot more about it than I do."  
  
"Thanks a lot, Beka. It's an escort service. You know what that is, right?"  
  
"Oh...I just thought the lights were pretty." She blushed.  
  
She couldn't read Vedran. It suddenly occurred to me. That was why she had to ask what the building was. I reminded myself to find a data rod on Vedran while I was here. I knew we didn't have one on Andromeda. It was taught to children so there was no real purpose to have one.  
  
We eventually found ourselves in the street Harper said his friend would be on. I glanced up and down it. It appeared to be a business oriented street with reputable shops in view. One that particularly caught my eye was a clothing store specializing in newer fashions. I glanced at Lise's clothing. It was completely out of date. She didn't look like she belonged here at all. Since this hadn't taken much time, I decided we would stop by the shop and see if there was anything Lise liked after we got the port.  
  
"He should be in that shop!" Harper pointed at the window two doors away from the clothing store.  
  
We crossed the busy street and walked into the shop. An alien was behind the desk. "What can I do for you?"  
  
"I'm a friend of Jerry's. Is he here?" Harper asked.  
  
"No, he's at home in the apartments down the street."  
  
"What number? I really need to talk to him."  
  
"417."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
We walked back out into the street. "We go down to the apartments now," I said.  
  
"The apartments aren't a place for women, ya know? Give me the discs, Lise, and I'll go get what we came for. You ladies can wait here."  
  
"Harper, I've been here a lot, and I can go to the apartments if I want," I said.  
  
"There's stuff there that I'd rather not take Lise around," he said.  
  
"I've seen a lot more than you probably think," she said.  
  
"You can go alone, Harper, but please be careful."  
  
Lise handed Harper the discs. "Yeah. Be careful, Harper. I don't want anything to happen to you."  
  
"We'll be in the clothing shop down a few windows. Come there when you're done," I said.  
  
"Okay." He walked away. I hoped that he would keep his mind about him and not do anything stupid.   
  
Lise and I headed to the clothing store. Its name was Galactic Fashion, one of those franchises that was on every technological planet in the sector. I usually didn't do my shopping at this kind of store, but it fit Lise's age. The store had current fads, as well as things that just never went out of style.   
  
"I don't like dresses." Lise crinkled her nose as she looked at the selection in the front of the store.   
  
"Neither do I. The better stuff is usually in the back or the holo-log."  
  
"Holo-log?"  
  
"I'll show you." I took her to the center of the store. There was a raised table with a panel on it. I read the Vedran and made the selection of all clothing items excluding dresses and the like. A hologramatic model wearing a pink and yellow outfit popped up out of the table.  
  
"That's cool. But I hate pink...and yellow, too."  
  
"I'm not fond of them, either." I limited the search parameters even more.  
  
We narrowed her selection down to four different outfits. The first was a black sleeveless top that went up to the neck and down to the mid-stomach made of a vinyl-like fabric and matching pants. The second was an Earth cloud and sky pattern on a t-shirt. The pants had the sky on them also, but they had a triangular strip of silver down the sides. The third was a black full body suit with silver and golden stars covering it. The last, and my personal favorite, was a black short shirt that went down to right above the belly button with matching pants. It detected moods of those who touched its wearer and showed that by a color change.   
  
Lise headed to the fitting rooms to try on the outfits. She had gone through three of them and was walking out in the fourth when Harper approached us.  
  
"You look great, Lise!" He placed a hand on her shoulder, and the entire outfit turned cherry red.  
  
I looked down at the mood chart. "You are madly in love, Harper."  
  
Lise and I laughed when Harper blushed. "You should've told me it did that!"  
  
"So...were you successful?" I asked in a low voice.  
  
"He'll have it in an hour or less. He's just got to pick it up from his source," Harper replied.  
  
"Well, we've got an hour to kill, then."  
  
The outfit Lise was wearing showed a bit of cleavage, and when she bent over, I caught Harper looking. I nudged him and chuckled. 'Men,' I thought. 'They never change.'  
  
"What is there to do?" Harper asked. "I haven't been here much."  
  
"There's a club near here that I used to frequent."  
  
"Sounds good to me," Harper said.  
  
"Me too," Lise said.  
  
"I really like that suit you're wearing." He walked over to the cashier and paid for it. "Don't change out of it anytime soon, baby."  
  
"Thanks," she said.  
  
Harper dropped the receipt on the floor. "Would you get that for me, Lise?"  
  
"Don't," I said.  
  
"Why not?" she asked.  
  
"That's the reason he likes what you're wearing."  
  
"That's not nice, Harper!" she said and hit him.  
  
"Oh yes it is. It's a very nice view." He grinned.  
  
She walked with her arms crossed over her chest out of the clothing store, watching Harper. "I'm sorry for hitting you."  
  
"I'm not sorry for looking." He laughed.  
  
They continued their petty arguments the entire way to the club. 


	17. Harper

----------------------------------------------------  
Delay always breeds danger.  
Miguel de Cervantes  
----------------------------------------------------  
  
  
Why was it that there was always uncomfortable silence in long lines? It made me feel almost guilty for what I said to Lise. I didn't think that she would take so much offense to it. She was beautiful, and girls like her had to deal with it all the time. Or so I had thought. Apologies weren't my style usually, but I wasn't allowed to botch things up with Lise.  
  
"I'm sorry, Lise." There. I said it.  
  
"You didn't need to apologize, Harper."   
  
"Then why were you giving me the silent treatment?"  
  
"I wasn't...I was just thinking."  
  
"About what?"  
  
"Beka, when have you been here before? Was it a long time ago?"  
  
She was avoiding my question, but I wasn't going to push her. She had been through enough already without that.  
  
"I used to be the captain of the Maru, the ship we took down to the planet, before I was on the Andromeda. For awhile, my brother and I did most of our business here on Utrecht. So he and I frequented this place a lot."  
  
At the mention of family, Lise became visibly uncomfortable. After growing up on Earth and losing my family to the Magog, I was all too familiar with avoiding the topic of family. "Is there any dancing or singing inside?"  
  
"There used to be, but I don't know if there still is. It was one of those fads."  
  
"If there is, am I allowed to dance or maybe sing?"  
  
"I don't dance." I had two left feet when it came to dancing with women. I was somewhat accomplished at swing dancing when Del died. She was one of the greatest dancers I'd ever seen.  
  
"Everyone can dance. You just have to have a good teacher to show you where to put your feet. Have you ever seen Dirty Dancing?"  
  
"No...I think you're gonna have to show me." I knew she was referring the movie, which I hadn't been able to get my hands on. It was on my list of movies to acquire.  
  
She laughed. "I have the movie in my bag, and a few others. Baby couldn't dance at all, but then Johnny taught her. And she was great after that."  
  
"What other movies do you have?" I wondered if she had anymore that I'd been looking for.  
  
"Hmmmm...I know I have Titanic and the first two Austin Powers movies. I threw some others in, too, but I can't remember which ones. Probably some eighties movies and chick flicks that you wouldn't want to see. How did you get a television and VCR after all these years?"  
  
"It wasn't easy. I had to search for a year to find one that wasn't in working order. Then, fixing it was another challenge. But now it works just fine."  
  
We had worked our way up to the front of the line. The guard at the door was a very large man with rippling biceps and abs that showed through his torn black shirt. Guys like that scared the hell out of me. I made a point never to cross them.  
  
"Is she old enough to come in?" He had a deep baritone voice with an edge.  
  
"Yeah, more than old enough." Beka smiled.  
  
"Is that you Beka?"  
  
"You've changed, Greg!"  
  
"You know each other?" I didn't think Beka associated with this kind of people.  
  
"We're old friends." Greg warmed up to all of us. "Come on in. I'll have Eric take over at the door."  
  
The club was filled with fog and dimly lit. I could tell most of the drunk people slumped over the bar stools were frequent customers. They all reeked of alcohol, and half of them looked like they were flash addicts. I wrapped my arm around Lise and tried to turn her away from that crowd. They weren't the kind of people she needed to see. We headed over to a table away from them, closer to the dance floor and stage.  
  
"What have you been up to since we last saw each other?" Beka asked.  
  
"I've worked here on and off. I tried to start a business, but that didn't really work out. I almost got married, too. Are you still on the Maru?" Greg plopped down at the table.   
  
"You've been busy. I still have the Maru, but now I'm working on another ship as first officer."  
  
"I told you you'd go places, Bek. Did you get your dark and handsome stranger?"  
  
"Not yet, but I'm still looking." She laughed.  
  
Music started playing, and I could feel Lise's foot tapping under the table. "Can I please go dance?" She looked to Beka and me with pleading eyes.  
  
"Of course." Beka continued her conversation with Greg.  
  
Lise jumped up and started off onto the dance floor. I chased her, grabbing her shoulder when I caught up to her.   
  
"I thought you didn't dance, Harper."  
  
"Well, I don't."  
  
"Then why are you here with me?"  
  
"These guys do dance, and that's not all they want." I discreetly gestured at the other men on the dance floor.  
  
"I can handle myself. What are they going to do to me here in public anyway?"  
  
"More than I care to think about."  
  
She took one of my hands and put it on her hip. She grabbed the other one and started dancing while I just stood there. She exasperatedly sighed. "Aren't you at least going to try to dance?"  
  
I started to moving, but I stepped on her foot before I had taken ten steps. "I told you I can't dance."  
  
"You have to feel the beat. This song is in four four time. Just move on the second and fourth beats. One, TWO, three, FOUR." She moved her hand off of my shoulder and to my hip, trying to show me where the beat was. I started to feel it, too, and moved with it. "That's much better! See, you can dance."  
  
I felt a bit embarrassed about dancing in public, but no one here knew me. I wouldn't ever see them again. Hopefully. And Beka was so into talking with Greg that she surely didn't notice us. "This is all there is to dancing?"  
  
"No, now we're going to try some more advanced technique. This isn't my best dance style. I'm more for swing dance, but I can work with this. Maybe I can go talk the deejay into playing some swing music."  
  
She was more for swing dance? She was more like Del than she'd ever realize. "Maybe we should just leave the deejay alone." It was too late, though. She was already dragging me through the crowd towards the deejay.  
  
"Would you play some old Earth swing dance music for me?"  
  
"If I can find the disc, yeah, I'll play it for you."  
  
"Thank you so much!"  
  
She pulled me back through the crowd again. Why did I let Beka drag us here in the first place? One thing was for sure. I wasn't going to forget this any time soon. Maybe the deejay wouldn't find the swing dance music. The current song came to an end, and a song that definitely fell into the category of swing dance began playing. I still knew the routine Del and I did, and I was guessing Lise would catch on quickly.  
  
We began dancing, and a large circle of spectators formed around us. The dance was going great, and I was actually enjoying myself. I ran several feet back from Lise and did a running flip. I hadn't ever nailed one of those before, and it was a major rush. I was surprised I hadn't cracked my skull open on the hard tiled floor. The number ended too soon. We took our bows and received a round of applause. Dancing had never been so much fun for me.   
  
"Where did you learn how to do that, Harper?" Lise and I sat down at the nearest empty table to catch our breath.  
  
"From a friend a long time ago." I decided mentioning Del was a bad idea.  
  
"You said you couldn't dance."  
  
"Beyond that, I can't. And I'm not very good at swing dancing."  
  
"You're a lot better than my other partners. They're all too tall and only one of them could flip. They were too afraid they'd hurt me dancing, too. You really got into it." She smiled.  
  
"Thanks." Women rarely complimented me, which made it feel even better when they did.  
  
"I'm thirsty. Is there anything around here that I can drink?"  
  
"They might have something if we go and ask." I stood up and went to the counter with Lise.  
  
The bartender was an alien with a dark complexion. "What can I get ya?"  
  
"Do you have anything non-alcoholic?"  
  
"Ummmmm...yeah. We've got sythetic cranberry juice that we use in our Nebula cocktails."  
  
"I'll take a glass of that and a Nebula cocktail."  
  
The bartender fixed the drinks, and I paid for them. Lise sipped the cranberry juice. She didn't seem to be particularly enjoying it. I took a gulp of the Nebula cocktail. I'd heard of them, but I never tried one. The kick it gave on the first drink was nothing short of amazing. I wondered what else was in it.  
  
She leaned towards my ear. "I need to go to the ladies' room."  
  
"I think it was near the entrance."  
  
"Come with me."  
  
"Okay." We walked over to the entrance and found that I was correct.   
  
She stood by the door and looked at me. "I'm afraid."  
  
"What are you afraid of?"  
  
"What if someone in there tries to kill me or hurts me?"  
  
"Are you asking me to go into the women's restroom?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I'll stand outside the door. You'll be just fine."  
  
"But Harper..."  
  
"I do a lot of things I shouldn't do, but going into women's restrooms is NOT one of them!"  
  
"You don't plan on coming back here any time soon, do you?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Well, then, you can come with me because it will be forgotten soon enough. Just pretend your drunk or something. Pretty please with sugar on top. Look at all these women. They're so much bigger than I am, and they could inflict a lot of damage on me."  
  
"Fine. I'll go with you." What was I doing? I was going to regret this. And Beka wouldn't let me forget it for a minute.  
  
She opened the door, and I followed her inside, covering my eyes with my hand. I didn't hear any noise and hoped I had been lucky enough to come inside when no other women were there.  
  
"You can uncover your eyes."  
  
There was a window at the far end of the room near the sinks. I heard the door open and ducked into one of the stalls. It was just a couple of women looking at themselves in the mirror. They left as quickly as they came. I dared to leave the stall and waited for Lise. She was washing her hands when I heard a shriek. I ran over to the sinks as fast as I could. It was a group of cloaked figures grabbing her.  
  
"Hey! You leave her alone!" 'Major mistake. There's one of you, Harper, and like four of them,' I thought, regretting my decision to immediately come to Lise's defense instead of going to get Beka or Greg.  
  
"Run!" Lise screamed. One of the figures jumped at me, rendering me useless.  
  
"Beka!" I screamed in desperation over and over again.  
  
Eventually, they pulled out a gun. I felt the pain of the shot before I blacked out.  



	18. Beka

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.  
Sidney J. Harris  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
Greg was a past boyfriend, and one of the few I didn't have to break up with because he proved to be less than I had initially expected. We had just gone our separate ways in the galaxy and knew long distance relationships never worked. I had sent him a few communications through courier, but we both grew busier and eventually forgot about each other. I occassionally remembered him on his birthday or when I saw someone similar in physique, but I never thought I'd see him again. It was a pleasant surprise.  
  
I glanced down at the time piece I was carrying. It had been forty-five minutes. "Do you see either of my friends anywhere? They're probably together."  
  
"I don't see them anywhere, but I wouldn't worry about them. They're probably enjoying themselves somewhere, if ya know what I mean."  
  
"Harper and Lise? I don't think so. I know he's crazy about her, but she doesn't seem to feel that way about him."  
  
"We'll find them."  
  
"I know they wouldn't leave without telling me about it. Lise seems way too responsible for that."  
  
We pushed through the crowd on the dance floor, yelling out their names. I was very concerned for both of their welfares and felt guilty about letting them leave my sight. Lise was too inexperienced, and Harper wasn't careful enough to be left alone in a place like this. If I wanted to be totally honest with myself, they could be off the planet already or even dead. I wouldn't stop searching for them until I had two bodies to prove it, though.  
  
"Maybe Eric saw them leaving. We should talk to him." Greg sighed. I knew that he also realized this search was almost certainly bound to end in tragedy.  
  
Greg pulled Eric aside from the door. "Have you seen a blond guy with spikey hair and blue eyes and a girl with long red hair and green eyes leaving in the past twenty or so minutes?"  
  
"Nope. I saw them dancing earlier, though. Man, they were good."   
  
"Are there any other exits in the building?" I knew that they couldn't have just up and disappeared into thin air.  
  
"There's just a couple of windows, but I don't think they're big enough to fit people through."  
  
"Where are the windows?" I was tapping my foot impatiently. Time was one of the commodities we had very little of if we hoped to find them.  
  
"There's one in the kitchen, one in each restroom and one that we blocked on the other side of this room."  
  
I ran to the women's restroom. It looked normal enough until I rounded a corner. There was a mark where a laser gun fire had scathed the sink and evidence of a struggle. We were too late. The sink was still warm from the blast, which meant they couldn't have gone very far.   
  
Lise's scarf was laying underneath the window with a small run in its soft translucent verdant material. I ran it through my fingers reminiscently. It matched her eyes and gave her tom boyish look a feminine touch. I had been in her position at one time. I hadn't been very ladylike in dress or behavior at her age, but that eventually changed. A little bit. I still despised pink and wearing dresses, but I did try to look good most of the time. She wouldn't have that opportunity to change if I didn't do something very soon. It sent a pang of pain and guilt into my heart. That guilt and pain that never failed to spread throughout my entire body, consuming like fire does gasoline.  
  
I hadn't completely lost hope, but I knew first hand what Utrecht's inhabitants, especially those that went around kidnapping innocent people, were capable of. The images produced by my mind were far from pretty. I composed myself and exited the restroom.  
  
Someone could have heard or seen something. I glanced around and remembered that the person at the nearest table had been there when we entered the club. I seated myself at his table, leaning forward on my elbows. He was a fairly clean cut man around my age that looked at least partially reputable.  
  
"Have you heard or seen anything strange in the past fifteen or twenty minutes?"  
  
"Nothing strange. Just the usual couple going into the restroom. That guy was screamin' at the top of his lungs. He should really know better."  
  
"What was he saying?"  
  
"Screamin' his girlfriend's name I think. Becky or something like that."  
  
"Was it Beka?"  
  
"Yeah, that sounds right."  
  
"Did you get a good look at them when they went in?"  
  
"Yeah, it was that dancing couple, the one with the moves. The cute red head wearing the mood ring suit and the spikey haired blond guy."  
  
"Damn it! Did it ever occur to you that they were being kidnapped or murdered?!? Did you even knock and open the door to ask if they were all right?!?" I was absolutely livid. I stood up and slammed the chair back under the table. I was more than ready to inflict some damage on this guy.  
  
"Beka..." Greg laid a hand on my shoulder.  
  
"You're pretty damn lucky he came along or I would have kicked your ass to kingdom come." I pulled away from Greg and pushed through the crowd towards the building's exit.  
  
"They aren't here, Greg." He was following me outside.  
  
"Let me come with and help, then."  
  
"No...this is something I have to do."  
  
"But I," he began.  
  
"Thanks for what you have done. But form here on out, this is my problem to deal with."  
  
"If you change your mind, here's my address." He placed a card in my hand and closed my fingers around it. "Send me a message when you find them."  
  
I nodded. He kissed my cheek and walked away. I knew I couldn't turn around and ask him to come with me. No matter how hard this would be to do alone. I stuffed the card in my pocket and clenched my gun's handle so tightly my knuckles turned white.   
  
I was faced with the question of how to contact Dylan about this turn of events. Couriers weren't always fast or accurate, and some of them had a tendency to leak their messages all over the general vicinity. There was also an impersonality about sending a message through courier. But taking the Maru back would require a significant amount of time. Time I knew I didn't have.  
  
'A choice like this shouldn't be in my hands. Two lives are dependent on my decision. If they die, it's my fault. I'm like a single member jury in a trial where the verdict is either death or freedom. My choice right here and now determines their lives,' I thought. 'There's only one thing I can do right now.'  
  
I sprinted to the Maru and began my journey back to Andromeda. I set the ship on autopilot. The tears spilled over even though I fought them with all my remaining strength. I rarely cried, but once I started it was almost impossible to stop.  
  
"Harper...you've been like the younger brother I've never had. We've been through a lot together since you joined the Maru's crew as a scrawny kid from Earth. I've watch you growing up, and you still are if I didn't just kill you. And Lise...you saved my life. I can see how much you look up to me, even though we've barely met. Your hero isn't being much of one right now. You're only a child, and you have so much of your life left to live if I didn't just sentence the both of you to death. Why is it me of all people that has to do this?"  
  
I somehow managed to considerably calm myself before I entered the Hangar Bay. Tears were a sign of vulnerability and weakness. I wouldn't allow myself to be weak in front of the rest of the crew. I showed my strength, and then others followed suit. I wasn't going to break the system now. Dylan was standing near the door. His expression changed when I emerged from the Maru alone.  
  
"Where are Harper and Lise?"   
  
I had to be strong. No tears were allowed to fall now. "They were kidnapped down on the surface."  
  
"How did it happen?"  
  
"We had to wait an hour to get the port. We were near one of my old haunts where Rafe and I spent a lot of time. So we stopped in for a drink, and I ran into an old friend. I got caught up in talking to him. Harper and Lise went out on the dance floor. Somehow, they ended up in the women's restroom where they were kidnapped and taken out a window. There was definitely a laser gun fired and a struggle. I found this by the window." I held up Lise's scarf. "I am fully to blame for this, Dylan. I should have kept a better eye on them."  
  
"Beka, I'm sure you did all you could. We'll find them."  
  
I was still fighting the tears, and coming very close to losing the battle. "How are we going to know if they're still on the planet?"  
  
"There has to be a way. We won't give up."  
  
We headed to the Command Deck. I was silent, in a state of introspection. I couldn't keep the questions forming in my mind. What if I had been more attentive to where they were? What if I told Greg I was busy instead of talking to him? I knew I should concentrate on the rescue efforts, but it wasn't that simple.  
  
"Rommie, can you modify sensors to detect a specific person down on the planet?" Dylan asked.  
  
"Harper and Lise?" Rommie's hologramatic form asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I would be able to detect them if some modifications were made, but Harper is the only crew member with enough engineering skills to make them. It's a lot easier to detect mechanical devices than it is humans."  
  
Dylan paced near the view screen. "There has to be some way we can detect them."  
  
  



	19. Lise

-----------------------------------------------------------  
Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage.  
Richard Lovelace, To Althea from Prison  
-----------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
Total darkness consumed me. Cold, damp stone was behind me. Where was I? I remembered the club slightly. It became more clear, and I remembered the cloaked ones. They grabbed me before I could run. I yelled out to Harper to run, but they caught him, too. The likelihood that he was here with me was fairly high, then. I blindly reached for a wall or a person to grab onto, hoping to find Harper. I discovered a cool body. I found its neck easily enough. It had a cerebral port. I found no pulse. A creature of some sort scurried away, scratching against the stone with its feet.  
  
"Harper," I sobbed. He had a cerebral port, and the body felt like him. "I should make my wishes more specific. I wanted to find you alive. Not dead."  
  
I had never been adept in coping with extreme emotional situations, especially death. A great aunt of mine died when I was six years old. I had never met the woman before, but I spent two months in mourning. I felt guilt for never seeing her and regretted pretending I was sick to avoid social functions. If a woman who I didn't even know could do that to me, remembering what the death of people I was close to has done to me wasn't a pleasant thing.  
  
"I'm sorry that I didn't let you kiss me back at that club. I could tell you wanted to kiss me after we danced. But this whole kissing thing, well, I've never done it before. And it's all kind of scary. But now you're dead now, and it's all my fault for dragging us down to the planet in the first place. I wanted a cerebral port, but it isn't worth this. If you can hear me somewhere, I would do anything to make this up to you. I...I know Beka and Captain Hunt will never forgive me for this. I won't forgive myself, either."  
  
The grief and guilt were eating me from the inside out. I crawled forward until I hit a hard stone barrier. I mapped out the room. I was in a prison of some sort. "If it isn't prisons in my mind, it's physical prisons," I muttered. What was it with me and being entrapped in some way?  
  
"Harper...god it feels weird talking to a corpse. I hope you didn't die a painful death. I wonder where you went. I've never really been too certain about what's in store for us in the afterlife. Maybe you're in a place of wine, women and song. Those always seemed to make men happy. Now that I think about it, I could have made you a lot happier when you were alive if I had tried. You seemed to be rather fond of me. You didn't know a whole lot about me, but I could have made it a point to tell you more. Why don't we have second chances? It's just not fair. If you were alive, I know you'd say something sarcastic and funny to make me laugh right now. I miss you already, and it hasn't even been an hour." I started sobbing again. "I wish I could look into your eyes and tell you how sorry I am for making all of this happen. You belonged here, unlike me. And you had a future ahead of you. I just have my stupidity and my futile attempts to belong in this world. You were the only one that welcomed me with opened arms. Without you, I would have just killed myself when I woke up. Life is so precious. It slips through your fingers like that, you know? It's true what they say. You never do realize what you have until it's stolen away from you. I never thought I knew what love was...but on some level I think I loved you. I miss you so much, Harper."  
  
I felt a pair of arms wrap around me from behind. "Don't cry, baby."  
  
"Harper?" I sniffled.  
  
"The one and only."  
  
I pulled away from his grasp and turned around to embrace him. I held him tightly, afraid it was a hallucination that would slip away in moment's time. His body was warm and very much alive. I had never been so relieved in my life. I didn't care about anything else. As long as he was alive and there with me, I had hope.  
  
"Do you know where we are, Harper?" I rested my head on his shoulder.  
  
"I was hoping you did. We've gotta find a way out of here."  
  
"There's a door over there near the corpse."  
  
"I can't see your hands or any part of you."  
  
"Oh yeah. I forgot. Sorry." I took his hand and pointed it towards the door.  
  
He started crawling away, and I tried to hold his arm so I could follow him. "Sheesh, Lise. I know you're happy to see me again, but you don't have to grab my butt."  
  
"I missed my target." I found his hand and held it.  
  
"You want me to show you where you were trying to grab me?"  
  
"Maybe later. Now, can we try to find the door?"  
  
"What kids are calling it these days. Sure we can, baby." He made his tone very seductive.  
  
I laughed. "This is serious, Harper."  
  
We discovered the door easily enough. The handle was a bit of a challenge, though. It was positioned at my neck level and was long and rectangular. It was locked, as expected. Harper slammed his body into the door a few times, but it didn't budge. We were trapped until further notice.  
  
"We're gonna have to find some other way out of this place."  
  
"Can we go on the other side of the room for the mean time? That body is starting to creep me out."  
  
"Me too. You'd think they'd at least get rid of the stiffs before tossing us in here."  
  
We moved to the other side of the cell. I kicked a corner several times to assure myself I wouldn't sit on one of those creatures or something else even less pleasant. I plopped down on the cold floor and shivered when the stone made contact with the exposed portion of my lower back.   
  
"This place is boring. Can we do something?" I asked.  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Tell ghost stories...play a game...whatever you want to do."  
  
"What kind of game can we play in total darkness?"  
  
"Ummmm...truth or dare...maybe a word game?"  
  
"The kind of truth or dare you play isn't my kind of game."  
  
"Oh. Then do you just wanna talk?" I wondered what kind of truth or dare was his game.  
  
"I wanna get out of this hell hole before those bastards in the robes come back." His tone made me feel like this was all my fault that we were here, and I concurred with that opinion. It was my fault. I heard him stand and walk across the room.  
  
He began bashing himself into the door again. "You're just calling them to come, Harper. Stop it!"  
  
"I'm getting us our of here, which you don't seem to give a damn about doing!" He was obviously very upset.  
  
"There are better ways to escape." I looked up and saw a slight glimmer from a spot a few feet above my head. "Come over here."  
  
"Why should I come over there?" I had never heard him sound so hateful before, and it scared me.  
  
"You will come over here, and I mean it! I don't care how much more godly you think you are than me. I don't care how mad you are at me. You're gonna come over here, and you're gonna do it NOW!"  
  
"Sheesh. You don't have to scream. Ya know, that guy heard you in the afterlife." He was no longer irate.  
  
"Hoist me up. I think I see something."  
  
I guided his hands to one of my feet and used it as a step. I felt the wall and found a ledge. I clutched onto it for dear life and found a curtain made of a scratchy material. I tried to pull it down, but it was tightly secured. I let go of the ledge with one hand and grabbed the curtain. I followed this process with the other hand and the curtain was ripped down. I toppled down onto Harper.   
  
"That kinda hurt." He pushed away the curtain.  
  
"Sorry." I glanced up into the barred window. A soft moonlight illuminated the room.  
  
For the first time, I got a good look at the cell. It was about fifteen feet by fifteen feet. The corpse was slumped over beside the door. The door itself was about ten feet tall and made of some kind of wood. The walls were a deep gray stone and had been hastily constructed. I felt several of the slick bricks. There appeared to be no secret escape devices. But this wasn't James Bond so I didn't really expect to find any.  
  
I stood and helped Harper back onto his feet. "Are you afraid?" I walked around, looking for that little creature that had scurried away before.  
  
"I don't know. I do know I'm hungry, though."  
  
I reached into my sweater pocket. I had an unopened bag of chocolate candy. I was hungry, but that didn't matter. I handed him the bag. "They're thousands of years old, but haven't been opened."  
  
"Thanks, Lise." He opened the bag and cautiously ate one. "These are good. You want some?"  
  
"I'm not hungry," I lied. I was too anxious and worried to eat. Every second I feared our captors would take Harper away and leave me alone here. Nothing was worse than solitude in a place like this. "What's going to happen when we get back to Andromeda? Will Captain Hunt punish me?"  
  
"Why would he punish you of all people?"  
  
"It's my fault."  
  
"No, it's not your fault. It's nobody's fault."  
  
"But I was the one who made us go to Utrecht."  
  
"I'm gonna be frank with you, Lise. Shit happens. Dylan knows it. I know it. Beka knows it. We didn't bank on any of this happening. We're here now, and we're gonna get out. We'll go back to Andromeda, and I"ll go back to fixing everything when it breaks as always. You'll...you'll decide what to do. And while you decide, we're gonna have a ball. I know you haven't had much fun while you've been here, but the future doesn't always suck like this. I wanna show you what you've been missing. But first we've gotta get out of here."  
  
I was lacking words to expressed what I wanted to say. So I just smiled and stared up at the moons in the window. There were two moons, both of them a shade of pale crimson. I found myself yearning for those star filled nights back on Earth when the moon was full, and the crickets serenaded my stargazing. I always wondered what it was like on other planets and if there was life beyond that of humans.  
  
"Is there still a moon and clear starry nights on Earth?" I asked.  
  
"It was one of the few things that pulled me through when I was there." He grew serious, his blue eyes glazing over reminiscently.   
  
"Me too. It made me feel less alone. It's funny how you can be surrounded by people, but still have this loneliness eating at your heart."  
  
He nodded. "The loneliness didn't get to me at first. I missed those who I lost, but I didn't cry or anything. But then I found my first girlfriend back on Earth when I was fifteen I think. I missed her when I wasn't with her, even if it was just for hours. So we'd sneak out at night and look up at the stars together. The Magog attacked a few months after we'd been together. She and others who were infested with the eggs had to be killed. I didn't know what loneliness was before that."  
  
"I've never been in any romantic relationships before. But I understand what you feel. I've lost a few close friends over the years. It was all so sudden. The worst part about it was never getting to say goodbye. Or tell them that I loved them. I think they knew I did, but I never said it. I still wish I could have the chance just to talk to them one more time. When I was on Earth and the stars were still a mystery, I thought they were in the stars watching over me. I would talk to them sometimes and make wishes. Stupid, isn't it?"  
  
"What did you wish for?"  
  
"To find friendships that will last forever...to find something I can do as a career...to fix my parents' broken marriage...to dance in a real performance...to experience a moment of perfection...to find my Romeo...just a bunch of things." I felt the tears slide down my cheek and hung my head.  
  
He slipped a finger under my chin and lifted my head. I looked into his eyes and felt a chill go through me. I didn't know what I saw in his eyes, but it was very intense. He pulled my face closer to his and wiped away my tears with feather light kisses. His lips found mine, and I closed my eyes. I was carried from the confines of the cold cell into a floating sea of warm clouds and sweetness. I was suspended in time for what felt like an eternity. It abruptly ended, forcing me back into the cold, cruel world. My body tingled from head to toe while my skin seemed to burn where he touched it. He just held me in his arms in silence.  
  
I smiled. One of my wishes had been granted. I thought nothing could hold more perfection than that moment did.  



	20. Dylan

-------------------------------------------------------  
Trouble is only opportunity in work clothes.  
Henry J. Kaiser  
-------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
Beka was taking Lise's and Harper's kidnapping especially hard, not that it didn't upset me. Harper was the only one on this ship who was capable of repairing the systems. The Andromeda was an asylum for Lise until she figured out what she wanted to do and where she wanted to go. I was responsible for her safety. They were both little more than children in their own respects.  
  
I watched Beka fighting to supess her emotions. She wasn't much use to any of us in this condition. "Beka, you've done all you can here. Why don't you go take a break?"  
  
"I need to be here, Dylan." She was evidently losing control inside, but her strong exterior remained.  
  
"An hour or so won't hurt anything. If we find anything, I'll tell you. Please, Beka. Don't make me order you to do this."   
  
She slowly exited the Command Deck, as if she had been defeated on some level, and was taking a last look at the battle field before that moment of doom came. I knew there was nothing I could say or do for her, except find Harper and Lise as quickly as possible. If they were still alive to be found.  
  
"Tyr, you have some experience in engineering. Do you think you could modify the sensors?" I asked.  
  
"No, I don't think I would be successful if I tried."  
  
"There has to be another way, then. We need to know if Harper and Lise are still on Utrecht. Specific humans can't be located." I paced around the Command Deck. I wasn't going to rid myself of this habit any time soon. "Does anyone have any ideas?"  
  
"Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way," Rev said.  
  
"What do you mean?"   
  
"Concentrate on another aspect. Looking at things from a different point of view sometimes makes it all clearer."  
  
I didn't understand what he meant, but I tried to think about the situation objectively instead of from the view of the concerned captain I was. "It isn't any clearer."  
  
"The sensors...we should concentrate on something else Andromeda can find, if she can't find a specific person," Tyr said.  
  
I thought for several moments. She couldn't find their bodies. I was certain she couldn't find their clothes, and for all we know those might have changed. What can she find? She said she could find specific mechanical devices. Mechanical devices. I suddenly knew what I was overlooking. "Harper's cerebral port! Rommie, can you find that?"  
  
"If I know the frequency it outputs. Trance should have it in her medical records."   
  
I walked down to Medical Bay. Trance wasn't there. There were only two other possibilities for her location. And I knew she had to be in Hydroponics. I walked into the beautiful garden. It had calming properties, and I understood why she spent a lot of her spare time here.  
  
"Dylan," she said as she looked up from a flower.  
  
"Trance, do you have any scans of Harper in your medical records?"  
  
"Of course. Have you found them yet?"  
  
"We're working on it, but I need to know the frequency of his cerebral port to continue."  
  
"The frequency is .061270," she said.  
  
"How do you know that?"  
  
"I've had to monitor his cerebral cortex where the port connects to his brain when he's had some more severe infections that can cause brain damage."  
  
".061270?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Thank you, Trance."  
  
She smiled. "I know if there's anyone that can find them, it's you."  
  
I repeated the number to myself over and over again on my way to the Command Deck. The second I arrived, I said, "It's .061270, Rommie."  
  
"Calibrating sensors to detect the frequency. He's still on the planet, but I can't pinpoint his location exactly. I do, however, know he's on the second continent."  
  
"Could we set the Maru up to detect him?"  
  
"Yes. But he isn't necessarily alive. His port would still emit the frequency after his death."  
  
"He isn't necessarily dead, either. Let's get the Maru ready."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	21. Harper

I'd never been an optimist, but I always tried to keep a least a little hope. Lise, on the other hand, worried more than anyone I'd ever met. She was growing more and more obsessed with whoever had captured us. I was naturally concerned, but she was raising that to a level of paranoia. Futile escape attempt after futile escape attempt brought us both to desperation. We exhausted ourselves, mentally and physically, after an hour or two. I had lost track of time. I was thirsty, but I could only imagine how thirsty Lise was. She had put forth at least three times as much physical exertion than I had.  
  
"Can we rest for a little bit?" she asked.  
  
I nodded and slide my back down the cool wall to the floor. She sat down beside me. I leaned my head on her shoulder and released a long sigh. My mind drifted from escaping. Our kiss had all but abandoned my thoughts. I wondered if it was as electrifying and amazing for her as it had been for me. My heart raced even at the thought of it.  
  
I felt too tired to sit up any longer and shifted my position, laying my head in her lap. I watched her green eyes contentedly for a few moments before closing mine. She began gently stroking my hair. Nothing felt that good. How did she know what that did to me? I was on the verge of drifting off into a very pleasant slumber.  
  
"You really look like the angel you are when you're sleeping." I forced myself out of my sleepy state and listened. "I wish I could tell you the truth, especially now."  
  
I wondered what truth she hadn't told me. She knew she didn't have to keep anything from me. I poured my heart out to her, and she had told me a great deal about herself, too.  
  
"I don't want you to hate me." She sighed. "My body is thousands of years old. Everyone knows that. But only Beka knows what I can't tell you. She seems to understand, but I don't think you will. Beka was surprised when I told her I was sixteen, but you...our situation is so different."  
  
I wasn't just surprised. I was shocked. She could easily pass for twenty. Technically, she was thousands of years in age. But by physical standards she was a child. That made me some sort of pedophile. I should have been at least slightly upset that she withheld that piece of information. But I wasn't. I still cared about her as much as before. I still wanted to kiss her again, regardless of the implications. It made me sick inside. That feeling of guilt spread from the pit of my stomach outward. I was a cradle robber.   
  
"I'm so sorry, Harper...Seamus. I've never felt like this before. No one had kissed me before you did. It was so perfect, too. I know it sounds like poetic junk, but I really think the heavens wept. I know what a lot means that I didn't understand before. I know that whatever we have...it's something special. I've never loved before, but if you don't hate me, I'm willing to learn. I'm sure, being the great guy you are, you have lots of girlfriends."  
  
Girlfriend wouldn't be the term for it. Since Del, I've had drunk bar girls who haven't been clear-minded enough to figure out who and what I am. I've had escorts when I've been particularly desperate. But never a girlfriend or any woman more than one night. Committment was a difficult thing for me to abide by. Not because there were women surrounding me begging just to touch me. I was afraid of falling out of love and hurting her. Especially someone like Lise who had never played the game before and would be devastated if they were suddenly without love.  
  
"I wish I wasn't so scared. I let my emotions get the best of me." She began nervously humming.   
  
"It's all right. Everything's gonna be all right." I took one of her hands in mine.  
  
"You heard everything?" The fear in her voice escalated.  
  
"I did. I don't hate you. I don't think I could ever hate you."   
  
"I know I could never hate you." She was calmer. "I'm so tired."  
  
"Then, let's go to sleep." I grabbed the curtain and threw it on the floor.  
  
She threw off her sweater and crawled onto it. I laid down beside her. I wrapped it around us the best I could and protectively held her until I fell asleep.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
"Stop it!" I heard a shriek, and I opened my eyes.  
  
The cloaked figures were dragging Lise away. I watched them shut the door as they left, paralyzed. My anger fueled me as I rammed myself into the door cursing like a sailor at the top of my lungs. If they had taken her to execute her, I wanted them to take me, too. I exhausted myself and wound up in tears. I missed her already. I could only hope that she would survive and return to me.  
  
I didn't want to be useless. There had to be a way out. I looked down at the corpse, which was obviously decaying from the horrible stench. "God, this is nasty." I began to dig through his pockets for anything that could be useful. Touching a freezing cold dead man was disgusting. But maybe I would find something.  
  
I discovered a few tools and odds and ends in his pockets. I emptied my own and sorted through the small pile. There was nothing that could aid in our escape by itself. The tools might be useful later. Nothing like a sautering wand, but they were at least something to work with. I began to formulate possible escape plans.  
  
  
  
  



	22. Beka

Surreal. That was how all of this felt. I was lost in a distorted abstract painting. The only reality was the pain. I knew it wasn't a figment of my imagination. The tears on my pillow, tainted with my mascara, were proof of that. But Harper was in the Machine Shop building one of those gadgets he called projects. Lise was in Medical Bay recovering. This was an elaborate hoax, a cruel practical joke. As much as I had argued with them and not openly expressed it, every crew member was a family member to me. Rafe had abandoned me more than once and caused me more pain than I cared to remember. I didn't know if I could handle losing any of them, especially if it was my fault that they had been lost.  
  
"Beka?" A voice entered my room through the doorway. Dylan's voice.  
  
I had to regain my composure, my strength. I had to re-erect that barrier between my emotions and outer appearance. "Yeah?"  
  
"Are you all right?" His concern was evident.   
  
I sat up, dangling my feet over the edge of the bed, my back to him. I wasn't ready to face him yet. Maybe I wouldn't ever be ready. "I'm fine," I lied.  
  
"Harper's still on the planet. Are you up to doing a run over the surface in the Maru to scan for him?"   
  
"Just give me a minute to get ready."   
  
I heard his soft footsteps and the closing of the door. I trudged across the room and looked at myself in the mirror. I washed away the smeared mascara. My eyes were bloodshot. I wondered where I left those eye drops Trance had given me when I had an eye infection. Those cleared up my eyes before. I started digging through my drawers.  
  
"I really need to throw away some of this junk." I found the eye drops. I put a couple of drops in each eye and dropped the bottle back in the drawer.  
  
I smoothed the wrinkles out of my clothing. I stepped out into the corridor and began walking towards the Hangar Bay. I passed Trance and weakly smiled. She was my good luck charm. It had to be a positive sign that I saw her. I was desperately looking for anything to grasp onto as hope. I couldn't get the images of what I'd seen on Utrecht before, all the violence and cruel torture methods. Lise and Harper didn't have a chance of escaping the pros.  
  
Dylan and Rommie were in the Hangar Bay. "Beka, we've modified the Maru's sensors," Dylan said.  
  
"They will detect Harper's cerebral port if you're within 25 kilometers of him. If you use the fastest route, east to west sweeps, it will take you approximately two days to scan the entire continent," Rommie said.  
  
"Well, then I'd better start now. Every second counts." Whoever had kidnapped Harper and Lise would probably force information from them in one way or another, including information about the Maru. The second they detected the Maru, they'd be off Utrecht on their way to some forsaken planet.  
  
I boarded the Maru and descended into the planet's atmosphere. I started the sweeps a little less than a kilometer above the surface. Now it was just a matter of time and luck. 


	23. Harper

Lise had been gone for at least five or six hours. I was worrying myself out of my mind over her. The second they brought her back, assuming they ever would, we were gonna high tail it out of here, no questions asked. I just had to find a way to escape this cell. There had to be a way out of here. Anyone else would have given up by now, but a super genius never succumbs to difficulty. The easiest way out appeared to be the barred window. I needed to see how the bars were secured in the wall, but I was way too short to see much of anything at that height. I had to do something, though.  
  
I glanced over at the corpse. I had already gone through his pockets. He had something else I could make use of, though. His clothes. I began unfastening his shirt. This was the single most disgusting thing I had ever done. And I'd done a lot of disgusting things in my time. The shirt reeked of death. I felt like I was gonna toss my cookies there and then. I ripped it into strips and tied them together. I had a fairly long rope when I finished and found a hook-shaped tool in the pile of things I had taken from his pockets. I tied the tool to the end of the rope. Voila! Instant grappling hook.   
  
"Well, here goes nothing." I threw the hook end of the rope towards the bars. After several attempts, it caught. I tugged on it, then put all of my weight on it. It didn't budge. I inched my way up the rope. Of all the things I was, a monkey or a gymnast weren't on the list. I kept thinking I heard my captors opening the door, weapons drawn and ready to shoot Harper down from the wall. I didn't want all the bones in my body crushed on impact with the stone floor of this cell. I reached the window and grasped the bars for dear life. They were constructed of a fairly weak alloy. If I had a sautering wand, it would have been a piece of cake to melt them. But I didn't have a sautering wand. I would have to improvise. A small explosion would suffice. It would also give us a little more room to get out.  
  
I slid down the rope, ignoring the burning sensation on my hands. I pulled down the grappling hook and tossed it into the pile of things I had to work with. Nothing in the pile could cause an explosion. I needed something with some wiring or electronic in nature. Damn! I walked around the perimeter of the cell, avoiding the corpse. A half-naked dead body that reeked something terrible. What a companion! What kind of sick bastards leave a dead body in a cell to rot with their new prisoners? This sucked on an almost unprecented level.  
  
My mind kept wandering back to Lise. They were probably extracting information from her. These kind of people stopped at nothing to get what they wanted. Their torture methods were worse than death. They'd double the regular dosage of flash, nearly killing her in the process. They'd gang rape her for their own perverse pleasure. They'd use torture devices, like specially tuned lasers to cause pain so severe it made the victim go into shock instantly. And that wasn't even breaking the surface of what they'd do. In six hours, she could be scarred for the rest of her life.  
  
The door flew opened, and an unconscious Lise was thrown into the room. A pair of bowls were dropped beside the door before it was slammed shut. I jumped to my feet and ran to her, taking her pulse. She was still alive, but extremely pale, and I could see external injuries. She had been scratched and bruised on the side of her face that I could see. I turned her head over and saw a very bloody spot on the right side of her neck. I looked over at the bowls. One had water in it. I ripped a piece of the bottom of my pants off and dipped it in the water. I carefully wiped away the blood.  
  
She had a cerebral port. The ultimate purpose of the excursion to this planet had been achieved. How ironic it happened in such a horrible way. The bleeding had stopped around the port. I began tending to all of her wounds the best I could. I wanted to make whoever had done this to her pay. With my bare hands. She seemed to be cold. I grabbed her sweater from the other side of the room. As I picked it up, something fell from one of the pockets onto the floor. I bent down and picked it up. I immediately recognized it. It was an ancient Earth cellular phone. Yes! Rigging this thing to explode would be as easy as taking candy from a baby.  
  
I covered Lise, trying to make her as comfortable as I could. I wished there was more I could do for her. I knew the only thing I could do to help her was get us both out of there. I dismantled the phone. It would be difficult to turn it into a time bomb. If I had a couple of clamps and some string, and I was extremely careful, I would theoretically be able to cause an explosion while far enough away to be in little danger. It was my only option so I began rigging the phone's wiring to cause an explosion, using a long length of wire so I could activate it from across the cell.  
  
I didn't have the time to plan where we would go after we escaped. I also didn't have the luxury of having any clue of where we were. Evening was approaching. It would be easier to conceal ourselves in the dark than in the light. But they probably had sensors. Sensors that could detect our ports. It seemed like all we could encounter were obstacles. There was a way to hide a cerebral port from sensors, but it had adverse effects on the port's user. Placing a magnet with southern polarity in the entrance of the port masked it from sensors. But it caused symptoms similar to radiation sickness after leaving the magnet for more than twelve or fourteen hours. We didn't have much of a choice in this matter, though.   
  
The walls had a slight luster and reflectiveness to them. They were composed of lodestone, a natural magnet that would hide us from any attempts to find us Andromeda would make! Our captors were good. But I was better. In the explosion, fragments of the walls would fly off like shrapnel. There would be some large enough to utilize for our puposes.   
  
I finished rigging the phone. All we could do now was wait until darkness. I looked at the contents of the bowls. It appeared to be water and some sort of food. I didn't trust it, though. They probably drugged it to prevent us from thinking clearly enough to make any escape attempts. I wouldn't put anything out of what they would sink to doing. No hunger or thirst were strong enough to surpass my desire to get the hell out of that place.  
  
Lise didn't seem to be changing in condition. I would have to carry her more likely than not. She wasn't extremely heavy, but carrying over a hundred pounds for long distances would be hard for me to do. I wasn't very strong. I wished I was Tyr, for the first time. I'd never thought in a million years I'd want to be a Niet. I despised them, and the Magog, more than anything.   
  
I picked up the large curtain and examined it. Did I still know how to sew? Back on Earth, I had to learn during the Magog raids to patch up my clothes. We didn't have the supplies to spare to make new ones. The corpse had pants on with obvious seams. I could remove the thread from them and transform the curtain into a sack that I could put Lise in and tie to my back. However much I hated the corpse, it was coming in handy for a lot of things.  
  
I made a very badly sewn sack that would be a tight squeeze for Lise. At least it was something. I thought I was being very resourceful and innovative. The suns were setting, and twilight would begin very soon. It was almost time to implement my plan. If this didn't work, I knew we probably wouldn't ever see Andromeda again. I moved Lise's body into the sack. I kissed Lise's cool cheek and gave her a gentle hug before I grabbed the cell phone and grappling hook.  
  
I caught the grappling hook between the bars after a few throws. I climbed up, careful not to set off the bomb. If I accidentally did, Harper would be no more. I reached the top and put the cell phone on the window's ledge. I carefully climbed back down, carrying the wire across the cell. I laid it on the floor and stood Lise up. I used some of the rope I had removed to tie her to me. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and jerked the wire.   
  
The loud explosion rumbled the cell. I felt the sparks burn my face. I was almost thrown off balance. I opened my eyes. I had blown away a large section of the wall, enough that I wouldn't have to climb over it. I found two large pieces of the wall and placed one in my cerebral port and the other in hers.  
  
I started running for my life out into the darkness. The adrenaline made Lise's weight feel like a feather. I didn't stop until I neared a large body of water. There was a rocky area surrounding it. I ran into the rocks and searched for a place that we could rest. There was a small opening. It was covered by plant life. I pushed my way through the plants and hoped nothing was inhabiting the cave.   



	24. Beka

Twelve of the longest hours of my life had crept by. I refused to eat or sleep, or even leave my seat, for more than long enough to refill my mug with coffee. The coffee was my last shred of energy. There was only thing I wanted more than to close my eyes and take a nice long nap. I wanted to complete this rescue mission.   
  
The silence had given me a chance to reflect on the past few days. I didn't just hand out trust, but Lise seemed to be a confused red haired teenage girl, like I had been years ago. She hadn't done anything intentionally to cause us harm. Harper already seemed very attached to her, and I wasn't against having her stick around for a while. We were sometimes a little strained for human resources on Andromeda. She had been more than willing to help us. Teaching her how to do some basic things wouldn't be very difficult, and then we wouldn't have to waste our time on them when more urgent matters arose. It wasn't like she had anywhere else to go. Earth wasn't anything close to what she remembered. After everything had blown over, I planned on talking to Dylan about it. If he was opposed to it, I would understand why. She was still a child, even though she was more mature than most. Space was a dangerous place.  
  
My eyelids were growing heavy again, and I was running out of coffee. I started mapping the surface of the planet and its composition to put in the Maru's database. It passed the time. This area of the continent was rich in natural resources, especially in the areas near dormant volcanoes. There were large deposits of iron ore, especially lodestone. Something sounded familiar about lodestone. I accessed the Maru's information on it.  
  
"Lodestone...found on carbon base planets...utilized by many colonies for a building material...the strongest natural magnet known to date. Magnets block some equipment from sensors. Like cerebral ports!" He had to be in the general vicinity. It was the perfect place to hide him. I extended the range of the scans for lodestone. There was a facility composed primarily of it a few kilometers away. I took the Maru directly overhead. Someone or something had blown a hole in one of the walls within the past six or seven hours. Harper. Only a genius could cause an explosion and escape from a prison.  
  
"Now how am I supposed to find you, Harper? There are tons of deposits around here. And you're hiding in one of them to avoid being recaptured. Where would I go if I were you? Assuming I were stupid enough to get myself in that situation...I would go to the nearest town or village by night and try to contact Andromeda. He probably headed in the direction the wall he escaped through was facing."  
  
I began plotting the nearby towns and villages in a two kilometer radius. He wouldn't go farther than that. It was too dangerous here to risk traveling that much. He was a lot of things I considered less than desirable, but an idiot wasn't one of them. Shameless Harper. That summed up most of his less desirable qualities.  
  
I opened a communications channel to Andromeda. "I think I've found where they were being held."  
  
"Were? As in past tense?" Rommie's voice asked.  
  
"Yes. They escaped. This area's teeming with lodestone, though, so I can't detect his cerebral port. I'm mapping the surrounding area. I think he'll probably head to one of these nearby villages and try to contact us."  
  
"Have you checked the facility for signs of them being held there?"  
  
"I was just getting ready to do that."  
  
"Beka, be careful." Dylan's voice replaced Rommie's.  
  
"I will. Valentine out."   
  
I landed the Maru about fifty meters from the facility and drew my gun. I approached the facility slowly, watching my back. No one seemed to be around. The explosion had knocked a four or five foot square out of the wall. Most of the debris had flown towards the outside of the building. Very lucky for the both of them. I sifted through what remained in the cell and discovered the remnants of an electronic device. It was evidently the cause of the explosion. I now had no doubt in my mind this was Harper's doing.  
  
The cell door was opened. I stepped into the doorway and quickly turned in a complete circle. To the left was a dead end. To the right was a long corridor. I pivoted on my heel and cautiously proceeded right. My heart was pounding. I could practically feel the adrenaline rushing through my veins. My steps echoed very softly off the dark stone walls. My shadow eerily danced around me like a mischevious ghost. This place was very creepy, and I wasn't liking it at all. A murmuring broke the near silence. I stopped dead in my tracks. The murmuring persisted, but I couldn't distinguish specific words. A door was several meters away, casting a dim glow into the near darkness. It was the source of the murmuring. I stepped closer and began to discern some of the conversation.  
  
"You told me humans with golden hair were stupid." The voice was arrogant and commanding. I was slightly offended. Anyone who called me a dumb blond had another thing coming to them.  
  
"Our agent supplied us with that information, sir. He has been accurate in the past." This voice was fearful and submissive. The first to speak obviously had some power over him.  
  
"We'll dispose of him, then."  
  
"Please don't, sir. Everyone makes mistakes."  
  
"Not mistakes that cost me my mission. We must find the girl and remove any threats to our succeeding."  
  
"We've already completed the portion of the experiment including her."  
  
"Lise Bennett is mine." I had confirmation that they had kidnapped Lise and Harper, but I wasn't ready to stop listening yet.   
  
"Leave the girl alone, Tarlin! She's of no use to you." The weaker of the two now sounded threatening.  
  
"Are you questioning my authority, Darneth?"   
  
"Yes, I am. I didn't want to do any of this in the first place, but you are my commanding officer. I obeyed your orders. I violated my own morals. But it's going to stop now. We have the necessary information."  
  
"I could kill you now for saying that. And I think I will."  
  
I stepped into the doorway, my gun drawn. "I don't think so. Drop your weapons."  
  
It was the Messinans, two of the ambassadors that had been on board Andromeda. This surprised me, to say the least. I assumed to find three or four Nefile, or the usual Utrecht trash. The Messinan I assumed was Tarlin made no move to drop his weapon. His finger moved towards the trigger. I pulled my trigger before he had the chance to finish raising his gun. He dropped to the ground. His gun was sent skidding across the floor. I looked at the other Messinan. He was no better than the first in my eyes.  
  
"I told you to drop your weapon." I glared at him with animosity.  
  
"No." He aimed the gun at his head.  
  
"What is killing yourself going to help?" He had valuable information about Lise and Harper. I wouldn't let him die. Yet.  
  
"What is it going to hurt?"  
  
"You can help me find Lise."  
  
"Lise and the young man accompanying her escaped, as you probably already know. I supplied them with part of the things they needed for an escape. I would say they are probably in either Orian or Marion's Landing by now."  
  
"Were they injured when they escaped?"  
  
"Lise may be in dire need of medical assistance. The post-surgical antibiotics I administered may not have been effective enough to prevent lower cerebral infection."  
  
"You performed brain surgery?"  
  
"I implanted a cerebral port."  
  
She got her port, but not how we intended for her to get it. "We don't have time to play Q&A right now, but you're going to come with me. We'll have plenty of time later." I pressed the nearby console and opened a channel to Andromeda, my gun still aimed at Darneth.  
  
"Beka, have you found them?" Dylan asked.  
  
"I have a pretty good idea of where they are. And I have the kidnappers."  
  
"Do you need any assistance?"  
  
"Yeah, I could use some. I have a feeling they're going to be a little less than cooperative."  
  
"I'll send Tyr down in a shuttle. Hunt out."  
  
"Where are Orian and Marion's Landing?" I started what would be a very long conversation with Darneth while I waited for Tyr to arrive. 


	25. Harper

A small fire created by yours truly lit the cave that was providing us a temporary hiding place from our captors. I was feeling a little ill, from the lodestone in my port, but Lise was in terrible shape and only getting worse. She was unconscious mostly, but even when she did wake up for a few minutes, she wasn't all there. She called me Honey Bear and kept insisting that we get to some jumbled up place that sounded something like 'Addacktry'.   
  
I hadn't slept or rested at all in what felt like days. I was just about to give in and take a little nap when I heard scuffling near the cave entrance. 'Oh crap! They've found us!' I thought frantically, trying to think of a place to hide. I grabbed Lise, sack she was in and all, and tied her to my back. I crawled to the corner of the cave and pushed myself against several flatter rocks.   
  
Instead of seeing our captors, this huge beast crawls in. I'm not talking about something the size of Tyr. This thing was the size of a small shuttle craft. Its scraggly fur is dark, and even in the dim light, I can see its long, pointed claws. The thought of what this thing could do to me scared me enough to send me flying towards the cave's only entrance once the beast was a couple of feet into the cave.   
  
A loud thumping and growling followed me. Its claws even grazed my shoulder, which sent me moving even faster. It was broad daylight outside, but I didn't care if anyone saw me. I ran like I'd never ran before in my life. I knew the beast had stopped following me, but I continued running until my head started to spin. I looked behind me and saw nothing following me, so I dropped to my knees. I waited for my breathing to return to normal. I needed to exercise more. A lot more.   
  
"Who are you?" I heard a voice ask from behind me.  
  
I grabbed a wrench out of my pocket and turned around. "Hey, I'm armed. You better keep back."  
  
"You're going to hurt me with that thing?" An attractive woman with a light complexion and dark hair wearing a long dark dress laughed warmly before becoming serious again. "You're both hurt. Let me take you to my village."  
  
Who am I to turn a pretty girl down? "Yeah, I think we could both use a little doctoring."  
  
"It's not far from here." She helped me to my feet, and we started walking. "We have the best doctor around."  
  
"Do you have any couriers?" We had to get Lise back to Andromeda. Trance could help her more than anyone else.  
  
"Couriers?" She seemed very confused.  
  
"Yeah, you know the ships that take messages from point A to point B in three hours or it's free."  
  
"Oh...no, we don't. Technology beyond the basics is not permitted."  
  
"Is it punishable by death or anything like that?"  
  
"No, we just choose to live a simpler life."  
  
"Well, I need to contact my ship."  
  
"Orian has a courier ship come once a week."  
  
"When does it come next?"  
  
"In six days."  
  
"So we're basically screwed."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"She's gonna die, and I'm gonna end up where I was before. Isn't life just great?"  
  
"A courier landed over in that direction, probably near Marion's Landing, an hour or so ago."  
  
"I have to get there now!"  
  
"It's a two hour trip on foot. You wouldn't make it."  
  
"You wanna bet? I'm a lot more capable than I look, thank you very much." I turned around and started heading in the opposite direction.  
  
"I guess that means you want to be eaten by Ghuari? It looks like you've already seen him."  
  
I stopped in mid-step and swung my leg around to face her. "How do you know I've seen that beast?"  
  
"Your shoulder. It's bleeding, and your clothing is torn."   
  
I glanced down at my shoulder. It had a large gash in it, and blood soaked through my torn shirt. I hadn't noticed it before. I wanted to go back and kick that animal's colossal ass for ruining my favorite shirt. I dug my boots into the dirt and cursed under my breath instead. Getting back to Andromeda was most important. I could always go back and shoot it with a large laser rifle later.  
  
"I could have someone take the message to Marion's Landing for you," she suggested.  
  
"Thanks. Is that your village?"   
  
We approached twenty or thirty cottages surrounding a large center cottage. There were men and women dressed in similar dark clothing working and walking through the village. There were no signs of technology whatsoever. They glanced at me strangely. My colorful blue shirt and bright orange pants didn't really fit in. I just hoped they wouldn't go hostile on me. I pulled my shirt collar up into an uncomfortable position to cover my port.   
  
"Yes, this is Highland. Our doctor is in that cottage over there." She pointed towards a cottage on the far side of the village. "We should hurry. Your friend is looking worse."  
  
Lise was paler than before. Her breathing was ragged as cold sweat trickled down her forehead. I walked quickly through the people that had gathered to watch me. The cottages were so perfectly uniform it was creepy. I couldn't point out a single difference between them. The doctor's cottage had a single difference from the others, a blue banner over the door. The woman knocked on the door.   
  
A moment later, a short middle aged man answered the door. "You're both hurt. Come in." The doctor ushered the three of us inside.  
  
The interior was mostly undecorated, except for a few paintings on the walls, and the furniture was spartan. The entry room had two doorways in it, both having a curtain hanging over them instead of a door. The floor was wooden and creaked when I followed the doctor into one of the other rooms. The woman seated herself in one of the chairs in the entry room. I glanced back at her before I parted the curtain and walked into the next room.  
  
"Lay her on the table." A long wooden table was in the center of the room. I carefully untied the sack from my waist and slid Lise out of it. I lifted her and gently placed her on the table. She softly groaned. I noticed the area around her cerebral port had begun bleeding again.  
  
"She's probably got an infection in her cerebrum," I said.  
  
"Do you know that technology such as this is forbidden in our village?" He became foreboding.  
  
"I didn't intend to end up here in your village. I've been through hell like you wouldn't believe the past day. And I don't care if it's forbidden. You've gotta help her!"  
  
"I came here to avoid technology, and I don't have to help her. And I won't."  
  
I grabbed him by his collar and slammed his back into the nearest wall. "You're going to help her. You took the damned Hippocratic oath at one point, and I won't let you defy it now!"  
  
The fear was latent in his eyes. "There isn't anything I can do. My medical tools aren't capable of helping her."  
  
"Then get some that are." I glared at him.  
  
"I can go down to Orian and get something that might help." He was shaking in fear now.  
  
"Go now. And don't come back until you have it."  
  
He ran out of the room, and I heard the door slam. Lise was still unconscious. I was glad she didn't see that. There was a side of me I couldn't let her see. She needed the Harper that made wise cracks all the time and that didn't seem capable of hurting anyone. She didn't need to know that I agreed with Machiavelli. If the end justified the means, I would do almost anything. Losing Lise wasn't an option.  



	26. Beka / Henry (the doctor from Highland)

Over the course of the long conversation with Darneth, I learned much about Messinans that hadn't been in the Maru's database. They were very set on command and superiority. From the beginning, they learned to practice total obedience to their commanding officer. The consequences were severe for even the smallest of infractions. Not much was known about the Messinans by outside worlds or species, and I now knew it was for a good reason.  
  
Tyr hadn't arrived after half an hour. My impatience was mounting. The images of what had become of Harper and Lise were growing more gruesome and terrifying by the minute. I kept calm and cool to maintain an appearance of strength to Darneth. Even though he seemed peaceful enough, he could turn at any second.   
  
"Your friends are in some danger. I wouldn't recommend waiting here much longer," Darneth stated bluntly.  
  
"I can't leave you and your commander here. I'm not the total idiot you have me made out to be." I glared at the Messinan.  
  
"Take us with you." His voice was emotionless, and that made me wary of his intentions.   
  
"He's out cold, and there's two of you and one of me. I don't think so."  
  
"The young Lise is facing a death sentence without immediate care."  
  
"So she goes from possibly getting infected to a death sentence in fifteen minutes? You just want to get out of here and head to some get away." I was sick of listening to him. He couldn't seem to get it through his head that I wasn't going anywhere without Tyr, though he was tapping into my impatience. It made part of me want to take his advice.  
  
"I can help you. Trusting me goes against your instincts, but I'm all you have right now."   
  
I pointed my gun at him and gave him an icy stare. "You aren't anything to me. I could shoot you right now and feel no regrets. Now, you're gonna shut the hell up. Or I will use this."  
  
'Hurry up Tyr and get here. Please,' I thought as I took three steps back to glance outside the door. I heard a bang, a ship breaking the sound barrier. Either help was on the way, or I was in a lot more trouble than I could handle right now. 'If the ship is Messinan...I won't even think about it, and it won't happen.'  
  
----------------------------------------------------------  
  
I was Highland's doctor, a respected citizen. Everyone looked up to me and never questioned what I prescribed or my actions. Then, one from the techonology realm busts into my office and commands me to go against everything I had come to Highland to uphold. Technology would be the end of the human race as we knew it, but I was being forced to treat a patient for technology related injuries.  
  
I jogged towards the outskirts of Orian. It wasn't that I didn't want to help the young woman. I just didn't want to be forced back into the world I needed to forget. The Hippocratic oath was vital to the medical profession, but the villages rules stated that technology was forbidden. I couldn't figure out why Marion would break the regulations on purpose. She was the daughter of the town's mayor and founder, after all. The only conclusion I could come to was she lusted after the young man. He wasn't unattractive, and young men were few in this area. Most left Highland by the time they reached the age of eighteen to venture into the world of technology.  
  
"Henry!" a male voice called from behind me.  
  
I turned around and saw Peter, a friend of mine that hailed from Orian and was also into the technology black market. "Peter, we need to talk."  
  
"Do we need to talk...in private?" he whispered into my ear.  
  
"Yes. It's about the market, and something I need." I scanned the area with my eyes, and no one was near.  
  
"What do you need and when?"  
  
"I need some medical supplies. Do you have any in stock right now?"  
  
An elderly man walked by. "Yes, I would love to share lunch with you, Peter," I said loudly.  
  
"Then, let's go to my house, and I'll have Martha prepare our meal," he played along.  
  
We spent the walk to his cottage filled with small talk about how life was treating us. I told him about my newest patients, save the young woman that had just arrived. He talked about a new building project on the northern outskirts of Orian that he was to lead. It was all meaningless, for the benefit of those around us.  
  
We entered his cottage and hurried to the back room. He walked to the corner and pulled up the loose floor boards, revealing a small flight of stairs we both knew too well. He lit a candle, and we proceeded to the depths of the clandestine cellar. The walls were lined with forbidden items, from building tools to electronic balls and games for children. He headed to a section near the middle of the room.   
  
"What I have is right here," he said, gesturing at a single shelf.  
  
"I could use a few of these, especially anything with disinfection." I grabbed what I could use, feeling guilt for betraying the rules I stood by.  
  
"Don't worry about paying for it. I owe you a few."  
  
I stuffed the items in my inner jacket pockets and began ascending the stairs. I heard someone slam the boards over the entrance and scuffling of feet. "What happened?" I whispered.  
  
"Shhhhhhh. Listen."  
  
I could hear Martha talking. "I think they went fishing up at the creek. I haven't seen them in a little bit."  
  
"We must talk to both of them as soon as possible." I couldn't identify the second voice, but it definitely sounded like trouble. I looked Peter in the eyes, discovering his were also filled with fear.  
  
  
Author's Note: Sorry for the lack of updates on this and my other fics. I've been working on a web site, an Andromeda fan fiction archive. The address is http://www.crosswinds.net/~andromeda84 . Please submit your work to themushroomkingdom@yahoo.com or martian_goddess@hotmail.com. I really need some more fics to put on the site! 


	27. Harper's Loss

"Where did that doctor guy go? I knew I shouldn't have trusted him! I'm the only one that can be trusted!" I mumbled as I walked frantically around the table with Lise on it.  
  
She was dying, and I could do nothing for her. I, Seamus Zelazny Harper, had no control for a change, and it was killing me. On Andromeda, I could always fix something to make her work again. I wished more than anything Trance was here. She had always been the queen of miracles, and I sure could've used one. Lise meant more than anything to me, and I would have given almost anything to help her. Whoever captured us must've had a death wish because everyone knows not to cross me like this. I didn't spend twenty years on that hell hole called Earth by being Santa's little helper. I know how to get exactly what I want, and I've always been damn good at it.  
  
"Shay..." A soft murmur of the nickname Del had given me pulled me out of my thoughts of revenge.  
  
"Lise!" I almost tripped over my own two feet rushing to the head of the table.  
  
"It hurts...things aren't looking good are they?" She coughed and then groaned painfully.  
  
"Everything's going to be fine, sweetheart. I'm right here, and help's on the way." I hated lying to her, but I didn't want to force her to bear the truth.  
  
"No, everything's not going to be fine...I know I'm not going to be here much longer." The luster was fading from her green eyes. Her usual optimistic glow had disappeared.  
  
"No! You're going to be with me for a very long time. I won't let anything happen to you!" It was difficult to hold back the tears. In all my years of pain and hardship, I cried in front of very few people. I didn't plan to start crying in front of more.  
  
"It's okay. I accept it. It's been a fun ride, but everything has to end sometime."   
  
"You know that I love you, right?" I couldn't remember if I had told her before or not. It was a good of a time as any if I hadn't.  
  
"I love you, too, Shay. I always will." She smiled. "But everyone that needed me has been gone for thousands of years. You've got to be strong."  
  
I just nodded and swallowed all the pain that was welling up in my heart. She didn't know how weak I could be, especially when it came to her and Del.  
  
"You really do mean everything to me." She tried to push herself up slightly.  
  
"Don't try to move. You know how much you mean to me. But please don't leave me yet. You're so young, and there's still so much you have to see, like the gal-"  
  
"Shut up and kiss me," she interrupted.  
  
I obliged, kissing her gently. Her lips were still warm and alive. It was hard to believe she was dying from this perspective, hard to believe any of this had happened at all. She wrapped her arms around me and kissed me more passionately. Her lips separated from mine for a moment and whispered, "Four dash seventeen. You'll have another chance." She kissed me again, and I heard her take a final breath. There wasn't another for ten, then twenty seconds. I left her arms wrapped around me, her lips on mine. I couldn't let the moment end.  
  
"Harper!" Beka's voice behind me caused me to jerk up.  
  
"Boss! Do you have any medical equipment?" I knew it still wasn't too late.  
  
"Yeah." She ran up to Lise and began doing what she could for her.  
  
'Four dash seventeen,' I pondered momentarily. I threw it to the back of my mind and decided to think about it later when Lise was feeling better. She wouldn't die. I refused to let her.  
  
"Harper, nothing's reviving her. She's gone..." Beka said gently.  
  
"No! She can't be dead, not yet. There must be something we can do!" I rushed to Lise's side and began the old Earth technique of recessitation, CPR. With each breath I delivered to her and each chest compression to her lifeless body, I was losing more and more hope.  
  
It was futile, I realized, and dropped to my knees sobbing. I no longer cared if Beka could see me crying. I lost the love of my life for the second time. No one should be forced to go through that. Ever.  
  
"Seamus." I felt Beka's hand on back as she kneeled down beside me. I knew it hurt her to lose Lise, too. Even though she generally disliked children, Lise had been in some way different for her. The way they talked earlier had shown me that.  
  
"Beka, why did she have to die?" I moved into her embrace, my tears falling onto her shoulder.  
  
"I don't know. A lot of things in life aren't fair."  
  
I couldn't tell how much time had passed, but eventually my tears ran dry. I stood on my own two feet again and looked at the shell that had been Lise. I brushed my fingers across her cool arm. It hurt immensely to see her like that. It drove my sarcasm and humor, every portion of my usual shield, out the window.  
  
"Beka, can we take her with us, y'know give her the kind of burial she deserves?" I didn't want that doctor guy that was supposed to save her to have her and use her in some weird experimenting.  
  
"Of course. The Maru's not far from here."  
  
We lifted her body and carried it out of the back of the building. The Maru was waiting no more than twenty or thirty yards away. I wondered how Beka had found us, but asking questions was for later. I was too preoccupied with what had just happened to really care. We entered the Maru and put her body on one of the spare beds. Beka returned to the cockpit and started our trip back to Andromeda. I stared at Lise for a while before joining Beka.   
  
"Are you all right, Harper?" Beka asked as I plopped down into seat beside her.  
  
"Not right now. But are we ever really all right? It's just a façade to mask all the pain. Life really sucks when it's starting to get kinda good again."  
  
"Yeah. If you want to talk about it, you know I'm always here for you."  
  
I could see Andromeda out of the view screen. "Thanks, Beka."  
  
"Permission to board," Beka said after she opened the communications line.  
  
"Permission granted," Rommie's voice said.  
  
We entered the Hangar Deck and landed, but Beka remained seated in the pilot's chair, watching me. "How did you find us?" I eventually asked.  
  
"Tyr came and took care of your captors. They're both in V-deck right now. I eventually found your cerebral port frequency, but I'll tell you, it sure wasn't easy."  
  
"Yeah." I was still lacking in the words department.   
  
Beka unstrapped herself and stood. "I'm sure Dylan will want to debrief you when you're ready, but I think you should get something to eat and a little rest now."  
  
I nodded and trudged off of the Maru. I roamed the corridors for some time before winding up at the door to my quarters. I entered, finding everything as I had left it. It somehow felt that something should be different, but I couldn't place my finger on exactly what. I pulled off my shirt and smelled it. Under the dirt and grime on it, I could smell Lise. The tears were finding their way back again. I quickly finished undressing and turned on the shower. I let the water get too hot and scald me a little bit. It made me feel more alive than I had since Lise died, awakened my dulled senses.   
  
I turned off the water after at least half an hour had passed and grabbed a towel to wrap around my waist. I was too exhausted to dry myself, and I just plopped down onto my bed, still wet. Sleep came surprisingly easily...  
  
*****  
  
"Harper, please wake up!"   
  
My eyes opened reluctantly. I looked up to see Trance standing over me.  
  
"It's been almost forty hours, plus who knows how long down on the planet, and you haven't eaten anything!"  
  
'Hunger,' I thought. My stomach wasn't asking for any food. "I don't feel much like eating, Trance. Thanks anyways, though."  
  
"I even made you some soup, your favorite!" She smiled sweetly.  
  
"That herb and chicken one?" I could smell something good in the air.  
  
"Yep! But you might wanna get dressed first."  
  
I glanced down and saw I was completely naked. 'What about the towel?' I saw the towel on the floor next to my bed. The implications suddenly occurred to me of Trance being there, and my clothes not. "Crap!" I grabbed the towel and covered myself. "So did you enjoy watching me...all of me?" I asked sarcastically.  
  
She giggled. "Eat your soup, Harper, before it gets cold."  
  
I pulled the blankets on my bed over me and began eating the soup slowly. I kept pushing the fact that Lise was gone out of my mind. I wasn't ready to face it. She meant too much to me to let go of her yet.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Trance seated herself on the edge of my bed.  
  
"I've been better, like that time I had radiation poisoning and almost died." I didn't mean to be so sardonic.  
  
"Oh." She took my soup tray when I finished it. "I hope you feel better soon." She hugged me.  
  
"Thanks, Trance." I sighed. "Is Dylan begging to talk to me yet?"  
  
"No. He said he doesn't want to push you. You can wait until you're ready."  
  
"What's Beka been saying about all this?"  
  
"That you're upset, and that's understandable. Oh! I almost forgot! We got you something." She smiled as she rushed across my quarters and pulled something out from behind a bureau. It was a new surfboard, the one that I'd been admiring for a very long time.  
  
"Wow! I've been trying to get my hands on a Trivani Blue Lightning for a year!" I hopped out of bed, clutching the towel to my waist while running like a kid in a candy store. Attached to the board was a ticket for me to compete in a big surfing contest on Aurelius Prime in a month. "And I wanted to be in this competition, too!"  
  
"Aurelius is considering becoming a Commonwealth planet, and Dylan pulled a few strings to set up the negociations to coincide with the competition."  
  
"Thanks!" I felt better for a few minutes, until the memories of surfing with Lise returned to my mind. Everything seemed to remind me of her, which made it all the harder to temporarily forget.  
  
"Do you think you're up to taking a walk down to Hydroponics with me?"   
  
"Yeah, just give me a minute to slip some clothes on."  
  
  
  



	28. Harper Copes

Author's Note: It's not over yet, folks. One more chapter after this one to tie up a couple of loose ends that I left on purpose. Hope you enjoy it.  
  
  
  
Flowers are the gift that spans generations. When you're born, if you're lucky, someone gives you or your mom flowers. Then, on your birthdays, you get flowers sometimes. When you get really sick, people usually bring flowers to wish you well. After you discover the joys of girls, or guys, you show your feelings by giving flowers as a gift. When you graduate from whatever school you've gone to, you get flowers to give you luck and congratuations in the future. Then, when you win surfing contests, if you're like me, you get a lei made of flowers put around your neck. When you finally find that special someone, you're absolutely surrounded by flowers at your wedding. The flowers keep on coming. Finally, when life ends, you're surrounded by flowers again. That was how my mind wandered back to Lise while I was in Hydroponics. Trance had hurried off to get some equipment to fix a bonsai or some other plant that I accidentally stepped on. At least she wasn't as upset as she had been when I 'borrowed' Walter from her.  
  
I had been walking slowly around the perimeter of the plants and found myself back at the small pool at the center of the roses and other pretty flowers I couldn't name if my life were on the line. It was crystal clear, and I could see my reflection. I kneeled, resting my arms on my thighs, to get a better view. I didn't look like the same Harper that I always looked in the mirror and saw before. There were dark rings under my eyes, and I looked a little bit malnourished. Memories of Earth started to flood my mind again, but they were easy to cast aside compared to Lise. 'I wonder what she'd say if she saw me like this...prolly kiss away all my hurt. Maybe we would have had the opportunity to get to know each other a little better. Even though it was hell, that prison cell was our best time together. I know so much more about her than I did before then.' The tears were fighting to fall again. I wouldn't let them. Trance would be back soon, and crying in front of her would probably make her cry in the end.  
  
"I like to look at myself in the water, too." Trance laid a hand on my shoulder.  
  
"I never really noticed it before now." I pulled myself to my feet again.  
  
"It's one of the prettiest places on Andromeda. You can see the flowers, too, if you turn your head the right way."  
  
I moved my head a little bit and saw my reflection surrounded by the flowers. "Yeah, you can."  
  
After a couple of uncomfortable silent seconds, Trance said, "Beka said she wanted to talk to you. She's down in Med Deck." She started heading towards the door.  
  
I wondered why Beka wanted to talk to me. Several different things occurred to me, all relating to the mission and the time I had spent on Utrecht. Was I ready to talk about it all yet? I guess I'd just have to go with Trance and find that out for myself. I cried in front of Beka before, doing it again didn't appeal to me, but what happened would happen. Things could be much worse than that.  
  
The Med Deck doors slid open, and I saw Beka waiting for me. She hopped up from one of the chairs near the door. "I wasn't sure you'd come, Harper. It's good to see you out of your quarters."  
  
"I can only deny you my presence for so long." I offered her a feigned half-smile.  
  
"You're feeling better than you were before?" Beka headed over to a table and grabbed a couple of dresses.  
  
"I guess." I really didn't know what to tell her. I wasn't feeling much of anything, other than a numbing pain.  
  
"Which of these do you like the best?" Beka held up a long, flowing white gown and a formal black one that looked like it belonged on a witch in mourning.  
  
"Neither one of them are your style." I sighed, knowing they weren't for Beka. I just didn't want to face what they really were for. "I think the white one's best."  
  
"Me too...does tomorrow morning sound all right for the services?" She placed the dresses on the counter beside her and stood next to me.  
  
"Yeah. We can't put it off forever." Saying goodbye had never been a favorite thing of mine. I preferred something more temporary, like 'See you around.' But this wasn't just temporary. This was it, and I couldn't handle that yet. "Is there anything that needs to be fixed?"  
  
"Everything's in perfect working order...and even if there was, I wouldn't tell you," Beka said.   
  
"Well, then what am I supposed to do in the mean time?" I needed something to get my mind off of this. Anything.  
  
"Get some rest, eat a feast, go play a game of one-on-one with Dylan. Do whatever you feel like doing."  
  
"All righty, Beka. I can do that." I walked out of Med Deck and headed straight towards the nearest Machine Shop.  
  
I walked up to the door, but it didn't open. "Rommie, is the door broken?"  
  
"No, I have been ordered not to allow you access." She appeared on the console beside the door.  
  
"By who? And why?"   
  
"By Dylan because you are in no condition to be performing repairs."  
  
"C'mon, Rommie. You know I'd never hurt you. I'm as up to repairs as I've ever been."  
  
"You'd never hurt me intentionally. However, when someone is in your emotional state, they may unintentionally cause damage."  
  
I sighed. She would argue all night long if it came to that, especially since Dylan gave her that order. "Whatever you say, Rommie."   
  
I headed towards Hydroponics for some one-on-one basketball with Dylan. I had only played the game a couple of times, but at least it was a distraction. I found him there, shooting from the free throw line.  
  
"Harper! It's good to see you up and around again. What brings you here?" He approached me, dribbling the ball the entire way.  
  
"You wanna play one on one?" I already knew I'd lose to him.  
  
"Sure. You're up to it?"  
  
"'Course I am." I took the ball from him while it was in mid-dribble and shot it towards the hoop. It barely even hit the backboard. Ouch.  
  
Dylan rebounded it, and shot it back up. "Two to nothing."  
  
The game continued that way until the score was thirty-six to two. The only reason I had those two points was because he let me shoot from right near the basket for a foul shot, even though there wasn't a real foul. Just pity for my ineptness at the game. I had about enough. Dylan was good, and I just sucked.  
  
"You win, Dylan." I leaned over and caught my breath.  
  
"It was a good game. You didn't do too bad."  
  
"I didn't even really score any points, only your pity points."  
  
"You don't play much. I practice a lot."  
  
"The only person on this crew that wouldn't beat me is Rev, and that's 'cause he'd break the ball with his claws and have to forfeit."  
  
Dylan laughed. "You're not that bad."  
  
I didn't really have any more comments about basketball, so I figured now was as good of a time as any. "Can I start being an engineer again now?"  
  
"You're still an engineer, but I don't think you're ready to do any repairs yet. Maybe the day after tomorrow." His voice was firm, and it would be no use arguing him with him when he was like this.  
  
"Let me guess. Until then I should just do whatever?" I was hoping that he'd tell me there was something specific for me to do.  
  
"Yeah."   
  
I didn't really feel ready to talk about what happened on Utrecht, but I wasn't sure if I could talk about it all after tomorrow. "Do you want me to tell you about my misadventures on Utrecht?"  
  
"If you're ready to talk about it. If you're not, then it can wait." His concern was evident, and I was a little surprised. He'd always been so about business and being the exemplary captain.  
  
"Yeah, I think I'd better do this now. Do you want me to start where Beka left off in telling you?"  
  
"We can go to my quarters first, sit down and get comfortable."  
  
Dylan grabbed two towels from the edge of the court and tossed me one. I followed him to his quarters. Every nerve in my body was telling me I was going to regret doing this, but I ignored it. Dylan seated himself in a chair, and I plopped down in the chair across from him.  
  
"I guess you want me to start with being abducted?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Well, Lise had a bad feeling about going into the bathroom alone, and even though I didn't wanna do it, I went in with her. Her feeling was right, and I heard her scream so I ran over to where she was. There were these cloaked guys. I tried to rescue her, which was kinda stupid since there were three of them and only one of me. They managed to knock me out without much trouble."  
  
"Did you see their faces or anything that would indicate their identities?"  
  
"Nope. They were cloaked, as I said, and didn't even say a word. I woke up in a pitch black prison cell." I decided to leave out all personal details. He didn't need to know a lot of the stuff that happened between me and Lise. "I found that Lise was there, too. We tried to find a way out, without success. Eventually, we knocked down a curtain covering the window and found that there was a corpse in the cell. We fell asleep and our captors took Lise away. While she was gone, I made a bomb and placed it in the window. We needed to get out of there before someone got hurt."  
  
"How did you make the bomb?"  
  
"I found an old Earth electronical device that had wiring in it in Lise's jacket pocket. And that corpse had some stuff on him that proved quite useful...well, they brought back Lise, and had given her a cerebral port. She wasn't doing very well. I set off my bomb, and we left. The walls were made of lodestone, and I took some to mask our port from any searches our captors might've tried to do. I found a cave, and we hid there. But some evil monster creature lived there, and wasn't exactly happy we were in his humble abode. So we ended up running away, straight into a girl that said she knew where we could get help. She took us to her town, not bothering to mention it was considered blasphemy to have technology. Lise was getting really sick. The doctor didn't have anything to help us, and I forced him to get some technology. I have no clue what happened to him. But Lise..." I swallowed my tears and pain. "Died. Then, Beka came. And you know what happened from there."  
  
"Were you and Lise seriously romantically involved?"  
  
I was expecting a lot of questions, but not that. What was I supposed to tell him? "Ummm....we didn't do much more than kiss. Why?"  
  
"I won't lie to you. Trance did the post-mortem scans, to determine the cause of death, and she found that Lise was a couple of days pregnant."  
  
I wanted to kill whoever did that to her. She told me she was saving herself for marriage or something really special and out of this world. "It wasn't me. That's for sure. And she hadn't even had a boyfriend before she came here."  
  
"We think we know who did it. We just have to finish the genetic scans."  
  
"You have the bastards that held us in that cell and killed her?" I vaguely remembered Beka saying something, but I was too out of it to really remember. It all seemed like a dream.  
  
"Yes, we do...but there's nothing that will be helped by you seeing them. We are returning them to their homeworld to be tried. They take the crimes committed very seriously, and we have more than enough proof to offer them."  
  
I was beyond angry. I wanted to wreak havoc upon those evil men. They had hurt me more than words could say, and even worse, they killed my Lise. They raped my Lise. And only god knows what else they've done to her. Dylan was very wise to keep me away from them. There wouldn't be much left to be tried when I was done with them.  
  
"You should get some rest before tomorrow. I think I have all the details I need."  
  
"You're right. I'll be in my quarters."   
  
I walked to my quarters and changed into what I usually wore to bed--my favorite boxers. I couldn't sleep, but I didn't feel much like moving. I pondered what my future with Lise would've been like. I could see a beautiful wedding in my mind, down the road a few years. And a honeymoon on some gorgeous pleasure planet. Then, maybe some children. We had talked about our future plans in the cell, and that had come up. We both decided that someday we wanted some. I wasn't so sure I wanted any if they weren't with her. My thoughts eventually lulled me to sleep.  
  
***  
  
"Harper, it's time to wake up." A hand shook me, but I buried my face deeper into my pillow. I was pretty sure it was Beka.  
  
"I wanna stay here," I mumbled into the pillow.  
  
She eventually turned me over. "It's time to get up."  
  
I half-opened my eyes. "I don't feel like it. If you wanna make me get up, then you'll have to dress me and carry me wherever we're goin'."  
  
She walked off, and I closed my eyes again. She gave up. I could sleep again. I vaguely remembered a dream I had. It kept telling me 'four dash seventeen.' I suddenly remembered its significance.  
  
I felt someone slipping pants onto my legs. Beka was going to dress me and carry me wherever we're going. It would have been laughable at any other time.  
  
"Beka, where can I find 'four dash seventeen' at?"  
  
"Lots of places." She finished pulling on my pants. I didn't feel like dressing myself anyways.  
  
"It's really really important that I find it."  
  
"I'll write a list for you, if you tell me why it's so important."  
  
"Nevermind." She lifted my upper body and put on a shirt made of a very soft, silky material. I knew it had to be the black one that buttoned down. To answer my question, I felt her buttoning it. "You're actually dressing me."  
  
"You weren't going to do it yourself." She laughed as she finished.  
  
I opened my eyes and sat up. She looked very pretty in a long black dress with a small slit in the side. "You look really nice." I felt my stomach turning itself inside out as it was forcing me to think about why we were both in black.  
  
"Thanks." Her expression grew grim as she continued, "It's time to go now."  
  
I followed her down to Hydroponics, which had been returned to its completely garden state. Trance had cleared a spot beside the clear pool of water for a casket. The rest of the crew hadn't arrived yet. I took slow, reluctant steps towards the casket. Lise was inside, wearing the white gown I had chosen for her. She didn't look dead, only like she was sleeping. I touched her face with my index finger. It was cold and definitely dead. Somewhere in my mind, though, she was still sleeping. She wasn't dead, and she'd wake up at any moment. I turned around and saw Beka, watching me with concern.  
  
"Are you going to be all right during the services? Do you want to say something in memory of her?"  
  
"I'll be all right, but I don't really have anything to say."  
  
The rest of the crew arrived one by one, giving me their condolences. I didn't believe she was dead, so this was much like a game of pretend for me. Everyone, but myself and Tyr, spoke about her. Dylan emphasized the future she wanted to have, Beka talked about the wonderful memories we would all have, Trance talked about what a good person she had been, Rommie said a little about how she might have made a good addition to the crew, and Rev finished up with something about the Divine and her salvation. During the moving eulogies, everyone cried at least a couple of tears, except for myself and Tyr.   
  
Tyr seemed to notice this. "Your strength surprises me, boy. I thought you'd be down on your knees sobbing by now."  
  
I didn't say much in response as we moved the services to Hangar Deck. We all watched on consoles outside the deck as the coffin was jettisoned into a sun. It hit me like a tidal wave as everyone was departing. She was really dead, and I didn't say goodbye. Just as Tyr had predicted, I dropped to my knees and began bawling, saying jumbled things about how I should have said something. I started pounding my head into the wall in front of me. I wanted to knock myself out, escape the pain and guilt somehow.  
  
"It was my fault," I sobbed over and over again. "I killed her."  
  
I was pulled to my feet from behind and saw Beka yet again. She had been there throughout this entire ordeal, so much more than anyone else. I buried my face in her shoulder and clung to her like a lost child, for the second time in a matter of days.  
  
"Beka, I didn't even tell her goodbye. And it was my fault that she died in the first place. I shouldn't have let her even consider going down to Utrecht." My tears continued flowing.  
  
"It's not your fault, Seamus." She began rocking me slowly. "She wouldn't have blamed you for something beyond your control."  
  
"The last thing she said to me was something about four dash seventeen, and I don't even know what it means..."  
  
Beka seemed to understand and said, "It will come to you in time, when you're ready."  
  
I accepted that. Her tone calmed me slightly, and she helped me back to my quarters again. We talked for hours and hours about Lise. Beka had been very fond of her. She told me that Lise reminded her so much of her as a teenager. I opened up to Beka about Delaney. We both promised each other not to reveal any of what had been said to anyone else.   
  
I was exhausted and went to sleep. All of the tears that had been cried had done me a lot of good. There would be a tomorrow, even if it hurt to be in it without her. The pain would eventually fade and the memories would bring me happiness. Someday. 


	29. Harper Solves A Mystery

Six months later...  
  
I was whistling a happy tune as I finished upgrading Rommie's avatar to include taste buds that would allow her to be even more human than before. "There, Rom doll, I'm finished. Take a sip of this." I handed her my coffee mug.  
  
She cautiously took a sip and immediately spit it out. "That was truly disgusting, Harper. I don't see how all of you can drink that."  
  
"It's an acquired taste. Welcome to our world." I smiled as she and I exited the Machine Shop.  
  
"I think I'll go to Mess Deck and try some more appealing foods."  
  
"Have fun, Rommie. I'll be in my quarters if you need me."   
  
I headed back to my quarters. They were messier than ever. I'd been working on so many projects, and most of the spare parts ended up on the floor somewhere. Even my bed was a total mess. I pushed everything off my bed and plopped down on it. I opened my bedside table drawer, with the intention of pulling out the flexi of my newest schematics, but accidentally grabbed the picture. I found it in Lise's knapsack the day after the services and kept it. I hadn't really looked at it. She was sitting on a Harley, in a black leather jacket, looking very tough.   
  
"You wouldn't believe how much I've missed you, babe..." My missing her had shown in the fact that I'd pretty much avoided any chances I'd had at being with other women. I only wanted her, and I still only wanted her. And having my usual luck, I'd had ten or fifteen offers from beautiful women. I didn't even think of accepting one of them. I had Dylan's magic, but I no longer wanted to be a magician. How ironic my life always ends up being. I placed the picture back into the drawer, remembering that I had never found that 'four dash seventeen' she had mentioned. I went through her possessions and searched a little bit, but didn't really put a full out effort on it. Now that it didn't hurt so much to think about her, I decided to conduct another more meticulous search for whatever was so important that she made it her last words.  
  
There were a lot of places on Andromeda that had 'four dash seventeen' in them. There were a lot of rooms and, depending on the way you counted them, there might be a lot of rooms you could call 'four dash seventeen.' The fourth deck up or the fourth deck down could be the four portion. And you could count a lot of ways to get a seventeen. Or maybe it was a specific area of a room, like room four and area seventeen. Or it could be a two number combination for a lock on something, though I had yet to see a two number combination lock.   
  
Maybe Rommie could help me by providing me a list of all the 'four dash seventeen' numbers on the ship. "Hey, Rommie!"  
  
"Yes, Harper?" Her hologram appeared in front of me.  
  
"Where can I find the number 'four dash seventeen?'"  
  
"There are fifty-two 'four dash seventeen' numbers aboard Andromeda."  
  
"Could you give me a list of the places?"  
  
"Of course. I will have my avatar bring you the list on a flexi."  
  
"You don't have to do that. Just put it on a console or something, and I'll take a look over it."  
  
"The console across from your quarters now has the list on it."  
  
"Thanks, Rom doll."  
  
I exited my quarters and scanned the lists for possbilities. I would begin my search with specific rooms that she might have been in. The first on the list was Hydroponics. I headed there, thinking about how ironic it would be that her services were in the place she wanted me to remember. There were four different areas that held plants. And maybe there was a plant number seventeen she wanted me to see. I started counting the plants to myself, mumbling the numbers so I wouldn't lose track. There were fifty or sixty different ways to count the plants, I realized. This would take a while.  
  
"There are two hundred and thirty-six plants, Harper," Trance said from behind me.  
  
"Hiya, Trance!" I stood and turned around. "But I'm not counting them for a total number. I'm looking for one."  
  
"Which one?" She was very curious.  
  
"I'm not sure yet. I might not even be looking for a plant, though. There's a lot of possibilities."  
  
"Is there anything I can do to help?"  
  
I thought that over for a moment before replying, "Thanks, but this is something I've gotta do. And I think I've finished up here anyways." Lise would have picked something more obvious than this probably.  
  
I returned to the console and asked Rommie for the list again. I laughed when I saw Tyr's quarters on it. He would have killed her if she went in there. And he knows if anything has been changed because of his Nietzchean senses and all that jazz. The list also included a couple of my Machine Shops, but I know those inside out. There were a few storage rooms on the list. Those were very viable options. I decided to visit the first on the list.  
  
Upon entrance to the storage room, I realized what a task I was undertaking. There were boxes and whatnot piled up to the ceiling almost! I groaned as I started climbing up towards the peak of the mountain. I carried down one box from the top and opened it. Inside were a bunch of Wayism pamphlets that were obviously Rev's. I made a place for boxes I had searched. The next box contained some sports equipment, probably Dylan's. The next box reaked from the outside, so I just tossed it onto the pile. I went through all the boxes, and my only noteworthy discoveries were some birthday presents that I knew were for me. My birthday was in only two weeks, after all. I also found some skimpy lingerie that was rather shocking. I couldn't help but to laugh when I pictured either Trance or Beka wearing it.  
  
"I guess I'm done in here. I've only got eight more of these storage rooms to go through," I mumbled.  
  
I went through the other eight rooms, spending all night awake doing it. I found out at least a couple of secrets each about everyone else. Blackmail for all this would be heaven, if I was ever in need of blackmail to get something I wanted. And I knew exactly what I was getting for my birthday, except anything they might have hidden in their quarters. But I was still clueless as to what Lise meant by 'four dash seventeen.' It was definitely time to take a little nap and hopefully get a fresh perspective on this.  
  
***  
  
I threw on some clothes and headed back to the console that had become my home base for the search. I was a quarter of the way done in actual searches, but there were places she wouldn't have gone and that I know well enough that made me about halfway done. My next destination would be Medical Deck. She spent most of her time aboard there, and it was logical that she would hide something there, probably when I was sleeping.  
  
Med Deck was empty, and I began searching through cabinets and files. There was nothing out of place. I found my medical files, which were almost as thick as my arm. I skimmed through them, shocked at how much disease and injury I had faced. I eventually made my way back to the stasis room. I seriously doubted I'd find anything there, but I had no where else to look.   
  
I opened the units one by one, each being empty. I had grown tired of the tedious task when I found something in one of the units. There was a stasis dish and a data rod. I took the rod and noted the number of the unit: #107. I placed the rod in the nearest console, and saw a video of Lise begin. This was what she wanted me to find.  
  
"Hi, Harper. I'm guessing if you're reading this I'm dead." That would be the general consensus. She meant for me to hear this after she was gone. "First of all, don't blame yourself for whatever happened to me. I know you still blame yourself for Delaney's death. I heard what you said about her when I was 'sleeping.' I don't want you to be like that when I die. Enjoy the memories times we had together, and I hope that it was a lot of fun for you. I know regardless of what happened, it was fun for me. I do love you as much as you love me. And you might be wondering why I left this for you, and what's in the stasis unit. Rommie showed me how to do this while you were sleeping and then I asked her if she could 'forget' it ever happened. I don't know if you want children someday or not, if you're hearing this, I must've thought you do." I remembered our conversation about children and the future. "Anyways, there are several of what you need to have my children in case anything happens before we can have them. If it would ever come to that. I really have a feeling it would have, and that we would have been really great parents together. You're going to be a wonderful dad, if you ever have kids. And don't feel obligated to use what I've given you. It's only if you want it, and for when you're ready...I know I'm babbling on, but there's something else you need to hear before I end this message. I'm dead now. You don't need to avoid women because you're missing me or feel like you're betraying me. I want you to have fun and enjoy life more than anything, Harper. If anyone deserves happiness, it's you. I guess this is goodbye. Wherever I am, I do miss you and hope that we get to be together again someday." She smiled as she ended the message.   
  
I expected to be crying, but I wasn't shedding a single tear. She had completely read my mind about everything. Some bonds do transcend all barriers. I wasn't so sure I'd be a wonderful father someday, though. My kid would be scarred for life. I'd make way too many mistakes with him or her, and there's so much that I wouldn't know how to do. I don't have any maternal instincts that tell you indirectly how to keep a child happy. My life would probably be a living hell if I did have a baby around. And to have her child, I would need a surrogate mother, and those are never easy to find. But the thought of being father to her child still made me smile.  
  
I was confused more than anything. The desire to be a father was fighting with the desire to leave things the way they are. Parts of me were screaming that too little time had passed while others told me that it was time to move on and make a change in my life. I would have to sleep on it, and not just one night either. Even though I had just woken up, I felt like going back to bed for a very long time. I snatched the data rod from the console and headed back to my quarters.   
  
I laid in bed again, casting the thoughts of a child aside. Seeing Lise alive again had healed some of the wounds inflicted on my heart by her death. This whole story was about our connection, when I really thought about it. 'If it had a title, it would probably be "bonds without barrier,"' I mused. I fell asleep more content than I had been in a long while.  
  
  
~The End~  
  
Author's Note: Should there be sequel to this, which I left an option for, or are you all totally sick of it by now? Please include your opinion in a review, and if I get enough feedback, I'll do a sequel. 


End file.
